Images(2)

Armchair

Date1820-1830

Attributed to Kentucky State Penitentiary Inmates

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Frankfort

MediumTulip poplar and hickory

DimensionsOverall: 37 3/4 × 23 3/4 × 22 1/8in. (95.9 × 60.3 × 56.2cm)

Credit LineGift of Mack and Sharon Cox

Object number2022-26

DescriptionArmchair of continuous-arm form; back consists of a concave tablet-form crest rail with rounded top and bottom corners and a horizontal shaped slat serpentine on the top and bottom edges; four round legs with tapered feet, front legs with complex turnings; front legs above the seat rails with ring turning, slightly narrowed section, and single ring urning at the top continuing into the shaped arm; two parallel rounded stretchers on each side, single rear stretcher; complex turned front stretcher (likely replaced); replaced cane seat.Label TextThe Kentucky Penitentiary in Frankfort, KY, established in 1798, was the first prison west of the Allegheny Mountains. By 1808, prisoners were engaged in trade skills, such as blacksmithing, coopering, tin smithing, and furniture making to offset the cost of incarceration. The earliest examples of the “continuous armchair” style, such as this chair, date to around 1810 and were made through the 1850s. Each chair presents unique features while also reflecting the distinct style of furniture common to prison workshops, and they follow cultural stylistic trends occurring outside the prison, though they are separate from what is being produced in the larger Frankfort furniture community. The rounded tablet crest and thin shaped slat echos European chairs of the same period, especially some found in Italy.ProvenancePurchased by donor from the Jack and Gayle McCormick estate at Caswell Prewitt Realty Inc auction in Mt. Sterling, KY, Nov. 21, 2021, lot 14.