Side Chair 1805 - 1808

Benjamin Henry Latrobe designed this side chair with painted and gilded wood around the turn of the 19th century. Latrobe was an architect known for his role in designing the United States Capitol building; this chair shows how architectural ideas extended into furniture design at the time. The chair's Neoclassical style, evident in the Greek key patterns and the stylized griffins, reflects the broader cultural interests of the newly formed United States. The elite class self-consciously adopted the aesthetics of the Roman Republic, associating the democratic ideals of antiquity with their own political experiment. Understanding this chair requires us to look beyond its function. Auction records, estate inventories, and design pattern books from the period help to reveal the aspirations and values embedded in this seemingly simple object. Appreciating this chair means appreciating the social and political context in which it was conceived.