Chair

Category
FURNITURE
Object Name
Chair
Maker/Artist
Challen, William __Probably
MESDA Craftsman ID Number
5944, 5945, 72364, 73443, 73529 and 73620
Place Made
Lexington, Kentucky
Date
1810-1820
Materials
maple ? –ash ? __primary __possibly
Dimensions
[Overall Ht]36 3/4″ __[Overall Wdth]18 3/4″ __[Overall Depth]16 1/2″
Description
One of a pair of faux bamboo fancy chairs with bent rear posts, originally painted brown-green; seat is replaced, paint mostly intact.

William Challen was among the earliest to advertise and make fancy chairs in America, but no New York examples are known (see Priddy III, Sumpter). Challen migrated from New York City to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1808 advertising “fancy chairs” and “Long Experience” in “London and New-York” (Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, May 8, 1809). A large body of related fancy chairs, some with provenance like this chair, has been identified in central Kentucky with the earliest almost certainly made in Challen’s Lexington shop. With time, a Challen School of chair making developed in central Kentucky with at least four shops producing chairs of a common design thread.

Object Location
The Henry Clay Memorial Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky
MESDA / Old Salem Accession Number
D-34513
Photo Number
D-34513
File Location
KY-3-16/KY-26-1
History
Descended in the family of Henry Clay
Examined
Mack Cox (Regional Representative) –Sharon Cox (Regional Representative) __ __ __06/07/2019