Who was Thomas Chippendale?
Cabinet maker in the Rococo Style.
Date and Place of Birth:
5th June 1718, Otley, Yorkshire, England.
Family Background:
Son of a carpenter.
Education:
Early life and education unknown but probably
local schools.
Chronology/Biography of Thomas Chippendale:
Chippendale gave his name to a school of eighteenth
Century furniture making but only those pieces where bills still
survive (e,g, Harewood House, Yorkshire) can be specifically attributed
to him.
He added Chinese, Gothic and Rococo motifs to
traditional Georgian designs. He principally made chairs, desks,
mirror frames, china cabinets and bookcases and tables with fretted
galleries and cluster-column legs. Most of his works were executed
in Mahogany, which had recently been introduced from South America.
1753: Moved to Saint
Martin's Lane, London where he maintained his workshops. These were
to become his showrooms for the rest of his life.
1754: Published
"Gentleman and Cabinet-Makers Director". He made a partnership
with the upholsterer James Rannie. and after Rannie's death his
assistant Thomas Haig became his business partner.
1759: Elected to
the Society of Arts.
1760: Declined re-election
to the Society of Arts. Began to be influenced by the neoclassical
work of the architect Robert Adam. Chippendale
gave his name to a period so successful was he and his style is
much copied so it is very difficult to authenticate many actual
pieces.
Written Works:
- 1754:
"Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director".
- 1755: "Gentleman
and Cabinet-Maker's Director". (Second Edition).
- 1759-62: "Gentleman
and Cabinet-Maker's Director". (Third Edition in weekly parts
produced with 200 plates).
Marriage:
1748: To Catherine Redshaw (Died 1772)
1775: To Elizabeth Davis.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Victoria and Albert Museum contains a bedroom
suite originally designed for Badminton House.
YORKSHIRE:
Harewood House,
BERWICKSHIRE, SCOTLAND:
Paxton House, (Holds a large collection of Chippendale
furniture together with a giant chair copy).
Date and Place of Death:
November 1779, London, England of tuberculosis.
Age at Death:
61.
Site of Grave:
St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, St. Martin’s
Place, London, England.
