{"id":372290,"date":"2026-10-13T20:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T20:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372290\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T20:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T20:40:22","slug":"new-york-furniture-at-the-state-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372290\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Furniture at the State Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New\"New<\/a>The New York State Museum has published an expanded edition of New York Furniture at the New York State Museum <\/a>(2026, RIT Press), documenting nearly three centuries of craftsmanship, design, industry, and everyday life through one of the Museum\u2019s most significant decorative arts collections.<\/p>\n

First published in 1984<\/a>, the expanded catalog features color photographs and descriptions of 242 objects from the Museum\u2019s collection, nearly doubling the 132 objects featured in the original edition.<\/p>\n

The publication brings together works by nationally significant New York cabinetmakers and regional craftspeople, as well as furniture produced by Shaker<\/a> communities, Arts and Crafts<\/a> manufacturers, and objects used in households across the State.<\/p>\n

Together, they illuminate New York\u2019s central role in the development of American furniture<\/a> and design while documenting changing styles, craftsmanship, and everyday life across generations.<\/p>\n

John Scherer, Senior Historian Emeritus and author of New York Furniture at the New York State Museum, said, \u201cFrom its Dutch beginnings in the colonial period to the post-modern times of the 20th century, New York Furniture at the New York State Museum\u202fillustrates the progression of furniture styles that were developed in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York became both the leader in furniture design and production throughout the 19th century, capitalizing on the influx of immigrants to New York, bringing their talents from Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of New York Harbor<\/a> and the Erie Canal<\/a> contributed to the spread of New York\u2019s popular furniture styles, influencing local cabinetmakers throughout New York and the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among items highlighted in New York Furniture at the New York State Museum are pieces owned by Philip Schuyler<\/a> and his son-in-law Alexander Hamilton<\/a>, an Elizabethan Revival sofa that was illustrated in Andrew Jackson Downing\u2019s The Architecture of Country Houses, published in 1850, and former Governor DeWitt Clinton<\/a>\u2019s writing armchair.<\/p>\n

The New York State Museum\u2019s full furniture collection consists of roughly 2,000 items, with the earliest piece dating to 1681, and includes work from cabinetmakers and communities across New York State.<\/p>\n

The depth of the collection makes it particularly valuable for research, as it documents regional differences in materials, construction, style, and consumption.<\/p>\n

The Museum\u2019s collection contains work by major New York makers, including Thomas Burling, Michael and Richard Allison, Duncan Phyfe, Joseph Meeks and Sons, Alexander Roux, George Hunzinger, and L\u00e9on Marcotte. Later movements are represented through Roycroft<\/a>, Gustav Stickley, and L. & J. G. Stickley.<\/p>\n

The 700-plus-piece Wunsch Collection of furniture, paintings, silver, ceramics, and folk art dates mainly from 1700 to 1900, while the Museum\u2019s Shaker holdings, collected with members of Shaker communities, showcase furniture alongside tools, manufacturing equipment, photographs, raw materials, and everyday objects.<\/p>\n

The New York State Museum will be hosting \u201cNew York Furniture at the New York State Museum: A Lecture and Book Signing\u201d with John L. Scherer on Sunday, December 6, at 2 pm.<\/p>\n

Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the distinctive furniture traditions that developed in New York from the late 17th through the early 20th centuries, highlighting examples of chairs, case furniture, clocks, and other objects that reveal changing styles, craftsmanship, and the lives of the people who owned and used them.<\/p>\n

Following the presentation, Scherer will be available for a book signing.<\/p>\n

Established in 1836, the New York State Museum is the oldest and largest public museum in the United States. Home to leading scientists, historians, archeologists, and anthropologists, its collections\u202frepresent\u202fthe State\u2019s rich cultural and natural heritage from the past and present, including 20+ million artifacts spanning 1.1 billion years ago to today.<\/p>\n

Located at 222 Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 5 pm. It\u2019s closed on all state observed holidays, including the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

Admission is free. For\u202fadditional\u202finformation, visit the\u202f\u202fNew York State Museum website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Book Purchases made through Bookshop.org<\/a> support both your local independent bookstore and New York Almanack\u2019s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State. Purchases via this Amazon link<\/a> also support the Almanack.<\/p>\n

Read More About Furniture Makers in New York State<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York State Museum has published an expanded edition of New York Furniture at the New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-372290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}