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The Furniture of Frank Furness
Author(s) -
Orlowski Mark
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of interior design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.229
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1939-1668
pISSN - 1071-7641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-1668.1987.tb00110.x
Subject(s) - desk , bedroom , extant taxon , suite , visual arts , engineering , history , archaeology , art history , art , biology , mechanical engineering , evolutionary biology
Frank Furness (1839–1912) was one of Philadelphia's leading architects of the nineteenth century. Between 1867 and 1912, Furness and his office produced more than 400 known works, among which were some of Philadelphia's most important monuments. Although many of Furness' buildings are no longer extant, the few which remain, such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the soon‐to‐be restored Furness Library at the University of Pennsylvania, have been preserved as precious artifacts of Philadelphia's vital history. Among these treasures of Furness designs are a desk and chair, and a bedroom suite in the Philadelphia Museum of Art collection. Along with the buildings, these pieces of furniture are documents of an extraordinary artistic talent, this paper describes the origins of Furness' furniture designs and his method of composition.