Queen Anne Chair c. 1937

Florence Truelson made this drawing of a Queen Anne Chair, likely around the 1930s, using graphite and colored pencil. The velvety texture of the upholstered seat and back is beautifully rendered, yet the lines of the drawing remain crisp and technical. Truelson has highlighted the chair’s carved wooden elements. Notice the cabriole legs, ending in pad feet. These kinds of details evoke a sense of luxury and refinement. But the drawing also shows the chair's construction, the way the frame supports the plush surfaces. It's clear that skilled labor went into both the making of the chair itself, and into Truelson's record of it. We can see how a piece of furniture, so often considered either a purely functional object or a symbol of status, can also be understood as a product of design, and the skilled trades that make design possible. Truelson's drawing makes us think about the relationship between art, craft, and industry.