1819 Classical-Revival Klismos Armchair at Winterthur Museum Inspires Winner In Casual Furnishings Competition

Furniture World News Desk on 9/23/2017

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library recently announced that an 1819 classical-revival klismos armchair in their collection inspired the winning chaise lounge of the 2017 International Casual Furnishings Association competition. The Winterthur Estate daybed, credited to John Black for Winterthur, is from Lane Venture, which has had a long partnership for the Winterthur Estate Collection. It also has a canopy.

“Lane Venture artists were inspired by the chair in creating a line of outdoor furnishings that are certain to become an important part of today’s twenty-first-century living environments that emphasize unparalleled quality and beauty,” said Kristin L. DeMesse, Director, House of Style at Winterthur.

The chair, part of Winterthur’s breathtaking collection of early American furnishings, is in seventh floor Montmorenci Hall. It is likely the only survivor of forty-eight made by Thomas Constantine of New York for the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol. Constantine based the design on an illustration in Thomas Hope’s 1807 Household Furniture and Interior Decoration. Hope was an English collector and art patron whose travels to Greece and Egypt influenced the classical motifs in his designs.

The chaise lounge is part of Lane Venture’s Winterthur Estate Collection for the 2018 season, billed as satisfying consumer desire for cleaner and simpler lines.

Each piece has been created with iconic references from the Winterthur estate, grounds, and library. Elegant forms include graceful X motifs on seat backs, laser-cut stylized urns on the arm posts, hand-pierced galleries, and motifs taken from architectural details of doors, gates, windows, trellises, and iron fences. The finishes have been translated from the rich patina of the actual metal references at Winterthur, resulting in a black textural powder-coated finish. Tables are topped with a faux travertine finish to provide the beauty of natural stone but with the ease that consumers want today. The seating – including a sofa, love seat, chairs, swivels, ottomans, a chaise, and a curved sectional – features Lane’s exclusive, drainable Weather Master® cushions in luxurious fashion-forward color palettes.

Regan Iglesia, Chief Merchandising Officer of Heritage HomeGroup, said the pieces “are rooted in classic forms found in the museum but have been designed as new, modern forms that will resonate with customers who extend their living spaces to the great outdoors.”

Winterthur creator Henry Francis du Pont “was very, very fond of the garden and the outdoors,” said DeMesse, so “this seems so appropriate to create with Lane Venture this special collection. We are confident that H.F. would have had great pride in the collection and treasured having it beautifully displayed at Winterthur during the photo shoot.”


For more information on Lane Venture's Winterthur Estate Collection and the chair, visit Lane Venture.

For more information on Winterthur, visit Winterthur's website.