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These portraits provide an
excellent example of 18th-century taste in the New England colonies.
Only wealthy people with high social standing could afford to
have their portraits painted.
This pair of portraits was painted by the English emigre artist
Joseph Blackburn, who worked in the New England colonies from
the mid-1750s through the mid-60s. Of all the itinerant artists,
he was the most able to express the British rococo style for
the American market. James Pitts was a wealthy Boston merchant
who inherited a large fortune upon his graduation from Harvard
University; in 1732 he married Elizabeth Bowdin. |
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This painting was most likely executed as a
wedding portrait to commemorate the marriage of Hannah Loring
to the prosperous merchant John Winslow. Miss Loring, a member
of a wealthy Boston family, and her husband were loyal to
the British king. They were among the group whose tea ended
up in Boston Harbor. By 1775 she was widowed and was forced
to flee Boston with her family when the British withdrew from
the city. Unable to return, her property having been confiscated,
she spent the remainder of her life in Canada where she was
forced to live under greatly reduced circumstances.
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The art forms of these periods were inspired by objects produced
in Europe, most often England, in the 18th and early 19th Centuries.
although the American Colonists wanted to escape the oppression
of their European homelands and establish new lives in America,
it is obvious that these immigrants wasted no time in attempting
to emulate the lifestyles they left behind. |
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 This
desk is a leading example of American furniture
from the Rococo or Chippendale period. Made in
Boston, it reflects the sophisticated features
associated with the center of furniture production
in colonial America. In addition to the many intricacies
inside, the desk's exterior features, such as
the hairy claw feet, the rosettes with trailing
leaves and flowers, and the carved and gilded
moldings framing the mirrors, serve as not only
a testament to the designer but to the carvers
as well.
| The classic
high chest of drawers, with broken-scroll
pedimented top and curved cabriole legs, was
introduced in 1730 and remained popular in
New England for sixty years. The high chest
of drawers became popular in Philadelphia
in the 1750s. Its basic form is consistent
with that of New England, but its treatment
is influenced by pieces from London in the
Chippendale or English rococo style. The juxtaposition
of strongly architectural motifs, fluted quarter
columns supporting a broken-scroll pediment,
and the naturalistic foliate carving are derived
from the English rococo style. With its softly
modeled, richly carved design and monumental
form, this high chest of drawers is an outstanding
example of the Philadelphia Chippendale style.
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A
handwritten note found inside the clock explains
that it was originally made for Elias Brown, a wealthy
merchant in Preston, Connecticut. As was commonly
practiced, the name of the clockmaker is inscribed
on the dial. However, a more unusual feature of
this clock is the presence of an additional name,
Abisha Woodward, on the face. Woodward was a woodworker
who lived in Preston until 1788 and is thought to
be responsible for making the clock's case. The
cabinetmaker achieved a delightful balance between
sophisticated and provincial elements in the design
and execution of this clock. |
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