Finery & Finish: Embellishments on Baltimore Federal Furniture
Furniture making emerged as one of Baltimore’s most significant art forms from the end of the 1700s through the first quarter of the 19th century. Cabinet shops flourished throughout the bustling port city, the fastest-growing in the country, and there was great demand for "fancy furniture" by a newly rich mercantile elite eager to furnish their Federal-style houses in the latest fashions. Interpreting English prototypes and designs by Hepplewhite and Sheraton, a highly skilled group of cabinetmakers—many of them London-trained—became specialists in inlay, gilding, carving, and painted decoration, and created a distinctly Baltimore style through the choice and execution of these opulent, yet refined, finishing touches. Bringing together an exceptional group of tables, sideboards, desks, chairs, and other furniture pieces drawn mostly from private collections, this exhibition highlights the original designs and decorative forms of Baltimore craftsmen, and particularly those favored by Homewood's original owners, Charles and Harriet Chew Carroll.