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Museum Collections
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American Federal Furniture and Decorative Arts from the Watson Collection
Philip D. Zimmerman
In the years following the American Revolution and creation of the United States in 1783, innovative designs for furniture and other decorative arts swept throughout the young nation. Based on English and European neoclassical interpretations, the new “federal” style featured colorful veneers and inlays, refined carving, geometrical shapes, and an overall lightness and delicacy that contrasted with preceding styles. Drawing on some 80 pieces of furniture and other decorative arts from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. D. Ronald Watson, this never-before-documented survey represents a comprehensive profile of furniture and decorative arts produced in cabinet-making centers from Boston to Charleston from the late 1780’s to the 1820’s. While demonstrating the high level of artistry attained by furniture-makers of the period, this selection in many ways reflects the evolving character of domestic life in America during a seminal period in the country’s history. Philip D. Zimmerman is a museum and decorative arts consultant as well as a visiting professor at Bard Graduate Center for the Study of Decorative Arts at New York Univeristy.
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