Historian Desmond Fitzgerald, in his 2007 book, entitled Irish Furniture, called for “a major exhibition on Ireland’s decorative arts….that would wake up the world to a staggering array of art that was manufactured in Ireland…” during the 18th Century. The Art Institute of Chicago has taken this on in a BIG way with their recent exhibit called Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840. As Christopher Monkhouse, the Eloise W. Martin Chair and Curator of European Decorative Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago, said in his article in the March/April 2015 edition of Antiques Magazine, “the Art Institute of Chicago has brought together what decades of the “Troubles” cast asunder.”
Monkhouse has expanded Fitzgerald’s idea to include paintings, sculpture, and architecture. And the decorative arts are represented with Irish book bindings, ceramics, glass, furniture, metalwork, musical instruments, and textiles. It is a wonderful show!
We are also delighted to welcome The Furniture History Society from the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, who are in for the show and coming for a tour of our office this week. Thank you to Mindy Papp of Florian & Papp in New York City for suggesting that we gather at Suzanne Lovell, Inc. to share thoughts about living with antiques and modern collections today.
Large image at left – Photo of signage at the Ireland exhibit at The Art Institute. Here is a short excerpt from the sign: The period covered by this exhibition – from the Battle of the Boyne, when the Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II, to the eve of the Great Famine – was just such an era of fertile and dynamic internationalism.
Small image at right – John Egan, Portable Harp, c. 1820. The O’Brien Collection. John Egan, a craftsman in Dublin, is well known for his gut-strung portable Irish Harp, introduced in 1819.
Chair on left: Side Chair, c. 1750. Filoli: Historic House and Gardens Made of the finest imported Walnut – Ireland was the first stop for imports coming from the Americas to Europe, thus allowing for the first pick of some of the finest walnut, burled woods and select mahogany.
Chair on right: 1 of 4 side chairs with the Falcon Crest of the Earls of Meath, c. 1730. Neville and John Bryan Collection at Crab Tree Farm, an estate near Chicago. Made of imported walnut.
Images courtesy: Suzanne Lovell, Inc.
John Kirkhoffer, Secretary Cabinet, 1732. Gift of Robert Allerton.
maker, John Kirkhoffer, was probably of Palatine origin and his signature, together with the date 1732, helps build a framework for Irish furniture studies upon which more pieces can be placed.
