| The American Federal Style encompasses the neoclassical
designs promoted most notably by the Scottish architect Robert Adam and
the English designers George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton. Adam pioneered
the style during the 1760s, and both Hepplewhite and Sheraton published
books of furniture designs, in 1788 and 1793 respectively. These men were
influenced by the antiquities unearthed at the recently discovered cities
of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. The lightness and clean lines of the
Federal Style were an antidote to Chippendale furniture, which had become
increasingly massive and heavily carved. Neoclassical furniture makers
mainly used highly figured veneers and contrasting woods and inlays in
simple geometric patterns for ornamentation. When carvings do appear, they
are smaller scale and generally shallower in relief than in Chippendale
pieces. Mahogany remained the principal wood. American craftsmen
most often chose satinwood and flame birch for contrasting veneers.
As in previous periods, American taste lagged behind
England by at least a decade. Federal furniture doesn't come into
its own until the mid 1790s. To me, the finest work of this period
comes from Boston, Salem, and the surrounding area. Samuel McIntire,
a carver, and John and Thomas Seymour, father and son cabinetmakers, are
the most famous craftsmen from this region, producing some of their best
work as early as 1795. The Seymours excelled in elegant veneer work.
A decade later Duncan Phyfe, probably the best known of all American furniture
makers, and Charles-Honoré Lannuier, a recent French émigré,
both working in New York City, were reaching their peak. Phyfe is
best remembered for several forms he popularized, most notably the pedestal
dining table and the lyre-back Grecian-style chair. |
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