The Art of Seating: 200 Years of American Design

Designed for function, each chair has a story to tell about the history and evolution of American design, art, and craftmanship. At the heart of the catalogue is the presentation of 57 chairs from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection of American Art covered in 49 essays, showcasing the beauty of the chairs and their historical context, as well as important social, economic, political, and cultural influences. Highlights include designs by John Henry Belter, George Hunzinger, Herter Brothers, Stickley Brothers, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Isamu Noguchi, Roy Lichtenstein, and Frank Gehry, among others. The chairs are arranged across four broadly chronological sections, from the early 1800s to the Civil War; from Reconstruction through the Gilded Age to the dawn of the 20th Century; from Art Nouveau to post-war Modernism; and finally, from the post-war Space Age to the Digital Age and the contemporary focus on space saving and sustainability. Each section opens with a brief introduction to its key themes.