Armchair

Thomas Affleck

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Affleck, a Scottish immigrant, came to America in 1763, the same year as John Penn (1729–1795), governor of Pennsylvania. This is one of a group of open-arm, upholstered-back armchairs with straight legs that Affleck is believed to have made for Penn. It follows a pattern for "French Chairs with Elbows" published in Thomas Chippendale’s "Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director" (1762 ed.).

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