Mahoganyexpand_more
Gift of Eleanor S. Fenton and her brother, Fred R. Salisbury II, in memory of their mother Eleanor Salisburyexpand_more 67.4
By the mid-19th century, the wealth generated along the Mississippi River through agriculture processing and distribution, especially of cotton, prompted the importation of manufactured goods to New Orleans. Bundled furnishings unloaded there were transferred to steamboats and sent north, sometimes as far as Minnesota. This Grecian-style wardrobe traveled almost the entire length of the Mississippi - from the New Orleans furniture retailer B.J. Montgomery & Co. to the home of Mrs. James Phelps, wife of a dry goods merchant in St. Paul.
Grecian-style furniture is geometric in design and often decorated with richly grained veneers and architectural motifs such as the rounded arches and stylized molding seen here. This imposing object suited the Greek revival and Italianate house being built along the Mississippi during the mid-19th century.
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know