Japanned side chair, c. 1760, Boston, Massachusetts, walnut with painted decorations, The Driscoll Art Accessions Fund

From William and Mary to Modernism: Boston Seating Furniture

Wednesday, March 1, 2006—Sunday, November 5, 2006
Bell Family Decorative Arts Court Gallery 333
Free Exhibition

At a time when most colonies exported natural resources and agricultural products in exchange for English goods, Boston's economy relied heavily on its manufacturing base. By streamlining production and adapting to the latest fashions, Boston craftspeople produced desirable goods that were less expensive than their English counterparts. Until the mid-eighteenth century, Boston exported more chairs to the American colonies than New York, Philadelphia, or even England. So prevalent were chairs imported from Boston that other cities advertised their own versions of the so-called "Boston chair." Select chairs dating from the 1700s to the 1950s survey the impressive heritage of Boston seating furniture.