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The term “Hepplewhite” refers to English cabinetmaker and furniture designer George Hepplewhite (1727?-1786), who is best known for his light, elegant neo-classical designs. His design vocabulary included slender, curvilinear and balanced forms often with painted ornament. Hepplewhite’s Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Guide was published by his wife, Alice Hepplewhite, after his death (London: I. and J. Taylor, 1794). Some scholars have suggested that she might have been responsible for some or all of the designs that bear his name.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]
Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.
DepartmentHistoric House
Sofa
Date1917-1918
Mediumwood, paint, upholstery
DimensionsOverall: 31 3/4 × 85 1/2 × 35 in. (80.6 × 217.2 × 88.9 cm)
Credit LineReynolda Estate
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1922.2.144
DescriptionThe Hepplewhite-style sofa has gently out-curved arms and back and wooden legs with carved and painted stop flutes over ball feet. The skirt is ornamented at the bottom with a row of closely spaced brass hobnails. The frame supports a single seat cushion and two cylindrical bolsters, one at each end. The term “Hepplewhite” refers to English cabinetmaker and furniture designer George Hepplewhite (1727?-1786), who is best known for his light, elegant neo-classical designs. His design vocabulary included slender, curvilinear and balanced forms often with painted ornament. Hepplewhite’s Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer’s Guide was published by his wife, Alice Hepplewhite, after his death (London: I. and J. Taylor, 1794). Some scholars have suggested that she might have been responsible for some or all of the designs that bear his name.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]
Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.
Status
On view1915-1918