Side chair
As the Revolutionary War drew to a close, George Washington was again free to direct his attention to his beloved Mount Vernon. This chair may be one of the "two dozen strong, neat and plain, but fashionable, Table chairs" that Washington sought to acquire in the fall of 1783 for his dining room. Chairs with pierced and arched slats were popular in Philadelphia in the late-eighteenth century and would likely have satisfied Washington's desire for tasteful economy. This chair descended in the family of Martha Washington's granddaughter, Martha Custis Peter, of Tudor Place in Georgetown.
Other terms for this design include: ladder-back.
Trapezoidal slip-seat frame upholstered in green cloth with small-scale woven chevron pattern; a black synthetic spun-bonded textile covers the bottom of the slip-seat.
Published ReferencesHelen Maggs Fede, Washington Furniture at Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, Virginia: Mount Vernon Ladies Association, 1966), 28-30.
There are no works to discover for this record.