Armchair

Thomas Affleck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Imagine the great comfort this chair provided with its wide seat, reclined back, and plush padding on the arm rests and seat. The sturdy, straight mahogany legs carved with stylized Gothic arches and Chinese fretwork speak to the influence of Rococo designs published in 1762 by Thomas Chippendale—most closely to plate 19 for a "French chair." This armchair relates to a suite commissioned by John Penn (1729–1795), grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, and the last governor of the colony before the American Revolution.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art