Side Chair 1735 - 1743

Curator: Well, isn’t that a stark beauty? It kind of screams, “Sit down, you’ve earned it,” but in a very serious, eighteenth-century way. Editor: Indeed! We’re looking at a “Side Chair,” crafted between 1735 and 1743. The piece hails from the talented workshop of John Gaines III and currently resides here at The Art Institute of Chicago. Curator: It's all in the details, isn't it? Like, that carved cresting on top—it reminds me of those slightly mournful decorative flourishes you'd see adorning headstones from the period. Sort of a stylish memento mori, but for your derrière. Editor: There is an undeniable formality to the dark-stained wood. Wood furniture such as this carried social symbolism within the early English colonies in America. As wealth increased, elaborate design motifs reflected aspirations and refinements, and became popular features in American furniture design. Note the woven seat: in its texture and utility, a hint of rustic simplicity amidst all the highfalutin design. Curator: It's interesting you say "highfalutin", because even though the shape of it leans toward formality, there is some levity! See the exaggerated turning of the legs and the slightly whimsical way the seat connects, the way it suggests something more playful hiding just under the surface. I’m compelled by that visual juxtaposition. Editor: Absolutely. I'd also argue there's a certain visual continuity. This chair reminds us of similar design trends—reoccurring through subsequent decades. Perhaps a constant negotiation between comfort, status, and that age-old desire to leave your mark on the world, literally etched into the very chairs we sit upon. Curator: Right. We're really carrying our cultural weight with us through time, literally and figuratively, if we’re sitting in this chair, aren't we? Makes you wonder who might have perched on that woven seat two hundred years ago and what anxieties or triumphs they brought with them. Editor: In many ways it’s a history made visible in everyday design. Next time you plop down into your favorite chair, give it a thought!