The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas Seymour

Mussey, Robert D. Jr.

ISBN 10: 0883891263 / ISBN 13: 9780883891261

Published by Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, 2003

About this Item

Blue cloth over board with gilt spine lettering; Color pictorial dust jacket; xiv, 462 pp.; Profusely illustrated in color. "The Peabody Essex Museum is pleased to present the first major exhibition of the work of John and Thomas Seymour, two English emigres who played a significant role in shaping New England's artistic heritage during one of the most pivotal chapters in American history. During the Federal period, from the 1780s to the 1820s, the Federal government took shape, along with many of the values and ideals that we live with today. It was also an era that adopted the classical style inspired by the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome as suitable for all branches of the creative arts. The style went through several different phases, but its salient features - fine proportion, symmetrical arrangement of parts, and decorative details copied from ancient buildings and furniture - remained constant and continue to be a vital part of America's decorative vocabulary."--BOOK JACKET. Contents include: Foreword / Dan L. Monroe -- Ch. 1. John Seymour and Family in Dorset and Devon, England -- Ch. 2. John Seymour and Family in Portland, Maine / Laura Fecych Sprague -- Ch. 3. The Seymours in Boston: Tradition and Early Changes -- Ch. 4. Thomas Seymour between 1804 and 1817 -- Ch. 5. Connoisseurship and the Identification of the Works of John and Thomas Seymour -- Ch. 6. Catalogue of Furniture. VG / VG (Ex-gallery lib., pencil marking and ink stamp at title page; Otherwise very clean and tight). Seller Inventory # 137072

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Furniture Masterworks of John & Thomas ...

Publisher: Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Hardcover

About this title

Synopsis:

The Peabody Essex Museum is pleased to present the first major exhibition of the work of John and Thomas Seymour, two English emigres who played a significant role in shaping New England's artistic heritage during one of the most pivotal chapters in American history. During the Federal period, from the 1780s to the 1820s, the Federal government took shape, along with many of the values and ideals that we live with today. It was also an era that adopted the classical style inspired by the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome as suitable for all branches of the creative arts. The style went through several different phases, but its salient features - fine proportion, symmetrical arrangement of parts, and decorative details copied from ancient buildings and furniture - remained constant and continue to be a vital part of America's decorative vocabulary.

About the Author:

Robert Mussey is the principal of Robert Mussey Associates, and founded the furniture conservation laboratory at the Society for the Perseveration of New England Antiquities in Boston.