id: 170257 accession number: 2012.43 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2012.43 updated: 2023-01-11 21:42:03.725000 Desk and Bookcase, c. 1780–95. Attributed to John Townsend (American, 1732–1809). "Plum pudding" mahogany, red cedar, chestnut, white pine, brass; overall: 240 x 108 x 64.8 cm (94 1/2 x 42 1/2 x 25 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Harvey Buchanan in memory of Penelope Draper Buchanan and Dorothy Tuckerman Draper 2012.43 title: Desk and Bookcase title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1780–95 creation date earliest: 1775 creation date latest: 1800 current location: 204 Colonial American creditline: Gift of Harvey Buchanan in memory of Penelope Draper Buchanan and Dorothy Tuckerman Draper copyright: --- culture: America, Rhode Island, Newport, 18th century technique: "Plum pudding" mahogany, red cedar, chestnut, white pine, brass department: Decorative Art and Design collection: Furniture type: Furniture and woodwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * John Townsend (American, 1732–1809) - artist --- measurements: Overall: 240 x 108 x 64.8 cm (94 1/2 x 42 1/2 x 25 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * No existing exhibition history. --- PROVENANCE Oliver Wolcott, Sr [1726-1797], a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, commissioned from the maker. date: probably 1785 footnotes: citations: Thence by descent through the Wolcott, Tuckerman, Minturn, Draper, Buchanan families. date: 1785-2012 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art date: 2012- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: This desk and bookcase was likely made for Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of Connecticut. digital description: In the 1700s, Newport, Rhode Island, was the fifth largest city in North America and one of the most important centers of shipping and trade along the Eastern Seaboard. Orders for furniture from its celebrated cabinetmakers came in from far and wide. This desk and bookcase was likely made for Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of the State of Connecticut. Eventually, the desk passed down through his family to Dorothy Draper, an important 20th-century interior decorator, and ultimately to her daughter, Penelope Draper Buchanan, whose husband gave it to the museum after her death—a rare, unbroken line of succession.

Large desks were designed to hold all the necessary components of a gentleman’s office under lock and key: books, papers, pens and ink, and important documents. To serve such a function desks also became complicated masterworks of the cabinetmaker’s art, incorporating many parts from small drawers to large panels cut from a single tree, making them among the most expensive types of furniture available. This desk and bookcase exhibits the characteristic traits of classic Newport furniture—“plum pudding” mahogany, cupcake-like finials, and a carved shell on the inside of the desk. wall description: In the 1700s, orders for furniture from the celebrated cabinetmakers of Newport, Rhode Island, came from far and wide. This desk and bookcase was likely made for Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of Connecticut. The desk passed down through his family to the famous 20th-century interior decorator Dorothy Draper and ultimately to her daughter, Penelope Draper Buchanan, whose husband gave it to the museum after her death—a rare, unbroken line of succession. Large desks were designed to hold the necessary components of a gentleman's office, including books, pens, ink, and important documents. To serve such a function, they became complicated masterworks of the cabinetmaker's art, incorporating many parts—from small drawers to large panels cut from a single tree—making them among the most expensive types of furniture available. This desk and bookcase exhibits the characteristic traits of classic Newport furniture: "plum pudding" mahogany, cupcake-like finials, and a carved shell on the inside of the desk. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Bidwell, Frederick E. and Leslie Cade. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with New York, NY: Scala Arts Publishers, 2014. page number: Mentioned & reproduced: p. 137 url: http://library.clevelandart.org/opac/?func=find-b&find_code=OCL&submit=Search&request=857403600 Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 20 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.43/2012.43_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.43/2012.43_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.43/2012.43_full.tif