Description:
Lavishly produced and meticulously researched, American Painted Furniture surveys decorative treasures from 1790 to 1880, a period when cabinetmakers, gilders, and ornamental painters aspired beyond the utilitarian to create fanciful works of art. With 350 superb photographs, the volume explores both high-style furniture from the regional design centers of Boston and Salem, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City, and the way that style was adapted and reinterpreted in rural regions across the country. In addition to a thorough analysis of many imaginative items (faux-inlaid desks, marbleized tables, stenciled cupboards, elaborate timepieces, and much more), the authors also have much to teach about the architecture and social setting of the period. The appendices discuss the specifics of the era's painting and gilding methods, and list dealers, restoration services, and historic houses. This sumptuous volume amply demonstrates what 19th-century craftspeople knew well, a concept that is gaining greatly renewed attention in today's decor--namely that, as these marvelous authors tell us, "Paint can turn the most ordinary furniture into decorative sculpture." American Painted Furniture will delight not only students of historic decorative arts, but modern devotees of faux finishing and ornamental painting, who will find much to inspire them here. --Amy Handy
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