A FRANK FURNESS OAK CHURCH PEW

Philadelphia, Ca. 1880

Each side with rear support having chamfered corners and large roundel standard, the molded armrest with turned supports and applied geometric deisgn, all enclosing a plank seat and back. Length: 65, height: 41, depth: 16-1/2 in. This church pew most certainly related to the work of Furness in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Using bull's-eye, multiple turnings and geometric devices he achieved an architectonic, machine-like aesthetic. The straightforward manner and retilinear lines are typical of English reform design, of which Furness often referenced. Related decoration appears in a residence at 4047 Spruce Street (1877), the Emlen Physick house (1878), "Knowlton," the William H. Rhawn house (1880), and the Undine Barge Club (1882-83), amongst others. Evidence of a kneeling bench at the rear supports indicates the pew's origin as a Catholic or Episcopalian church, many of which Furness was commissioned to design.