Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Side Chair with Portrait of Marquis de Lafayette

ManufacturerIn the manner of John and Hugh Finlay (American)

CultureAmerican

Dateca. 1824

MediumWood, paint, and iron

DimensionsOverall: 30 3/4 x 18 x 15 1/2 in. (78.1 x 45.7 x 39.4 cm)

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. C. Frederic Fluhmann

Object number81.37A

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, MMH, Dining Room

DescriptionOne of a pair of tablet backed side chairs based on roman archetypes. Painted black with a medallion Head of Marquis de Lafayette on the top rail and flanked by foliage and scrolls. Decorated tablet back and stiles. Legs and stretchers are turned, and front legs have beehive form just below seat. Caned seat. Worn, paint scarred, much of the original decoration painted over. Cane replaced. A few chip. See 81.36 and 81.37B. Not family, but important.

Label TextIn the manner of John and Hugh Finlay American, 1777–1851 and 1781–1830 Pedestal Side Table and Pair of Klismos Side Chairs with Lafayette Portraits, Baltimore, Maryland, ca. 1824 Wood, paint, and iron Gifts of Dr. and Mrs. C. Frederic Fluhmann 81.36 and 81.37a–b Known as the “Hero of Two Worlds,” the Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) was a leader of both the American and French Revolutions. During his 1824 tour of the United States, Norfolk and other cities welcomed him with pageants and parades. This table and chairs, decorated with gilded classical designs and portraits of Lafayette, were probably commissioned for a banquet held in the general’s honor in Baltimore in October 1824. Like George Washington and the American eagle, Lafayette’s image was popular patriotic decoration for bottles, ceramics, and many everyday objects.Exhibition HistoryMyers House Published ReferencesSamuel Sifton, "Lafayette, You Are Here," _American Heritage_ 40, no. 5 (July/August 1989), color ill. p. 48. "Lafayette's Farewell Tour," _Colonial Homes_ 16, no. 5 (October 1990), color ill. p. 34. William Voss Elder, III, _Baltimore Painted Furniture 1800-1840_, exh. cat., The Baltimore Museum of Art, Md., 1972, 69.