A Chippendale chair in the library at Folly, the home of Richmond artist and designer David Whaley (Photo by Sam Schneider)
In the 18th century, British style was high style, and London was the arbiter of good taste and fashion in Britain, the American Colonies and ports around the world. Affluent homeowners in 1750s Virginia, such as the Randolphs of Wilton, furnished their homes with pieces imported from London’s finest makers. So it’s not surprising that in 1754, Thomas Chippendale’s new take on neoclassical style, introduced to cabinetmakers worldwide with the publication of his book “The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director,” became an overnight sensation, making Chippendale one of the key interior design influencers of his day.
George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton, furniture designers working in London during the latter part of the 18th and early 19th centuries, followed Chippendale’s lead. Each rocked the design world by publishing pattern books of his “modern” neoclassical-inspired furniture designs.
Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton probably never anticipated that their furniture designs would remain relevant for more than 200 years. American furniture makers — from the first American cabinetmakers working from the designers’ pattern books to today’s furniture companies and craftsmen — have continuously made pieces, particularly chairs, in the Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles.
“The power of the publication of these pattern books and the influence they had on furniture, interior design and architecture cannot be overstated,” says Michael S. Phillips, a Richmond-based classical furniture scholar and curator. “American furniture from the 18th and early 19th century through the present is heavily derived from them. To this day, when you think of traditional furniture in America, you automatically think of Chippendale.”
Now, after spending the past decade or so displaced by the design world’s focus on contemporary and midcentury design, neoclassical style has returned to tastemaker status. Interior designers are finding a new appreciation for antiques and the timeless quality of furniture designs by Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton. A-list designers such as Sheila Bridges, Miles Redd and Darryl Carter are mixing them with art and contemporary and modern furnishings, while using them to add depth and warmth to their interiors.
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Chippendale armchair circa 1770, possibly made in Virginia (Photo by Michael S. Phillips)
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Thomas Chippendale
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Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) achieved rock-star status when he published a book of his furniture designs in 1754. “The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director” popularized Chippendale’s style, bringing him many large-scale interior design commissions, and it has influenced British and American tastes ever since. Interestingly, Chippendale wasn’t known for groundbreaking design, but rather for his talent at incorporating elements of diverse furniture aesthetics — rococo, Chinese and Gothic in particular — into a distinct furniture style that was the first to be named after a cabinetmaker rather than a monarch.
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Hepplewhite side chair circa 1800, made in Baltimore (Photo by Michael S. Phillips)
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Hepplewhite
Not much is known about the London cabinetmaker and furniture designer George Hepplewhite, namesake of the neoclassic style that first became popular in America around 1790. In 1788 — two years after George Hepplewhite’s purported death — the firm skyrocketed to A-list status when his wife, Alice, then the proprietress, published the “Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide.” The collection, which featured nearly 300 designs in a new neoclassical style inspired by the extravagant designs of British architect Robert Adam, was an overnight hit with British and American cabinetmakers.
Fun fact: Because so little is known about George Hepplewhite the man, some speculate that Alice Hepplewhite was the actual genius behind the designs in “The Guide,” and she may have invented the character of George to publish her work.
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Sheraton side chair circa 1810, probably made in Richmond (Photo by Michael S. Phillips)
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Sheraton
A leading proponent of neoclassical design, Thomas Sheraton (1751-1806) is considered the foremost late 18th-century British furniture designer. Although he trained as a cabinetmaker, Sheraton was not known to have a workroom. His artistic interpretations of neoclassical style became a powerful source of inspiration for cabinetmakers and joiners with the publication of his 1791 “The Cabinet Maker's and Upholsterer's Drawing Book.”
An immediate bestseller — at least 600 cabinetmakers and joiners subscribed to his book — Sheraton’s “Drawing Book” influenced generations of cabinetmakers in England and America.
Design note: Although antique American Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton pieces can be hard to come by, modern reproductions (1940s to today) are readily available in furniture stores, vintage shops and thrift stores, in just about every price range. You can pick up a lesser reproduction in a thrift store at a reasonable price and personalize it with a bright coat of paint and new fabric on the seat.
