2008.22.McD Gustav Stickley, Linen chest

With its highly structural form, massively scaled strap hinges, and quartersawn white oak construction, this linen chest is an incomparable realization of American Arts and Crafts philosophy at the turn of the 20th century. A custom work by Gustav Stickley's United Crafts shop, the chest reflects the rapid maturation of Stickley's "new furniture" designs in the period from 1900 to 1903, which moved beyond initially eccentric, detailed forms to architectonic shapes that express solidity, permanence, and an evocation of the past through hammered iron hardware and bold oak construction. An object expressly fashioned for the modern American home, this linen press or chest, among the finest objects produced by Stickley's firm, was custom made for Gustav Stickley's model dining room that appeared in a 1903 Arts and Crafts exhibition in Syracuse, New York.

Kevin Tucker, Label text, July 2008.

From 1914: Private collection, purchased at The Craftsman Building, New York, New York [1] 

Until 1979: Private collection, Massachusetts, thence by descent from the above [1] 

1979-2004: Beth Cathers, New York, New York, acquired from the above [1]

2004-2008: Bruce Barnes and Joseph Cunningham, New York, New York  [2], [3]

From 2008: Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., purchased from the above [3], [4]

[1] Sotheby's "The Property of Bruce Barnes: Fair Market Value Appraisal" (dated August 10, 2007, copy in Collections Records Object File) states: "... when this linen chest was acquired from a private individual in Massachusetts in 1979, the original bill of sale was presented to Ms. Cathers that documented the chest was acquired by one of the owner's ancestors at the New York Craftsman Building circa 1914."  

[2] See Kevin Tucker, "Acquisition Proposal," 2008 (dated April 28, 2008, copy in Collections Records Object File). 

[3] See signed "Bill of Sale and Assignment Agreement" (dated January 30, 2009, copy in Collections Records Object File). 

[4] Works of art given or purchased by The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., a non-profit organization, are placed in the custody of the DMA for the purpose of public display on the premises of the Museum or in other recognized art galleries or museum. The title to all works of art purchased (or otherwise acquired) by the McDermott Art Fund remains with the Fund.

This linen chest was exhibited in the "Arts and Crafts Exhibition" in The Craftsman Building in Syracuse, New York. It appears in this photograph, published in Irene Sargent's article "A Recent Arts and Crafts Exhibition" in the May 1903 issue of The Craftsman. Read the article on the University of Wisconsin's Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture. 

The Stickley Museum~Learn more about the origins of Stickley furniture and designs. 

Apply to objects where number equals 2008.22.McD