American Federal Furniture and Decorative Arts From the Watson Collection

In the years following the American Revolution innovative designs for furniture and other decorative arts swept throughout the young nation. Based on English and European neoclassical interpretations, the new 'federal' style featured colourful veneers and inlays, refined carving, geometrical shapes, and an overall lightness and delicacy that contrasted with preceding styles. Drawing on some 80 pieces of furniture and other decorative arts from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. D. Ronald Watson, this never-before-documented survey represents a comprehensive profile of furniture and decorative arts produced in cabinet-making centres from Boston to Charleston from the late 1780s to the 1820s.