1985.B.62, Windsor settee, Philadelphia, 1770-1785

Ten-legged Windsor settees are uncommon enough to attract special attention. Spindles repeated in the back of this atypical object create rhythm, while the well-proportioned turnings and carved arm rests promote harmony and balance. With turned legs, spindle backs, and carved plank seats, Windsor chairs and settees were sturdy and easy to produce in quantity and were therefore excellent seating furniture where durability was a concern. In addition, simple joinery and the repetition of parts allowed the chairs to be produced in batches, suggesting an early "mass-production" approach in which several turners might contribute parts to a single chair or settee. Philadelphia was a leading producer of Windsor seating, shipping chairs as far south as Louisiana and northward to distant Maine. This example was originally painted a grayish brown.

Kevin W. Tucker, DMA unpublished material, Label text (1985.B.62), 2006.

Until 1951: Israel Sack, New York, New York

1951-1985: The Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Collection, Houston, Texas

From 1985: Collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee

The main source for this provenance is Charles L. Venable, American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, published in association with the Dallas Museum of Art, 1989), 68-69.

Faith P. Bybee purchased this settee in Rhode Island, and insisted it was made there. However, it was actually made in Philadelphia even though it turned up in Rhode Island, as many Philadelphians summered in Newport in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and shipped furniture north to furnish their cottages.

Apply to objects where number equals 1985.B.62