Chippendale’s Director

The Designs and Legacy of a Furniture Maker

To celebrate the tercentenary of Chippendale’s birth, this exhibition explores the legacy of the cabinet-maker by focusing on his influential book of furniture designs, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director. The publication cemented Chippendale’s name as Britain’s most famous cabinetmaker; as the exhibition shows, with its combination of Chippendale’s preparatory drawings and a selection of British and American furniture inspired by Chippendale’s designs and aesthetic, it has continued to influence furniture design to the present day. Highlights include a Chippendale-inspired chair, designed in 1984 by the architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Find out more about ‘Chippendale’s Director’ from the Met’s website.

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Design for a Cabinet, from Chippendale Drawings, Vol II. (1753), Thomas Chippendale. Courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art

China Table (c. 1755–60), England. Photo: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

‘Chippendale’ Chair with ‘Tapestry’ pattern upholstery, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown

#662 ‘Chippendale’ Chair with ‘Tapestry’ pattern upholstery (1984), Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York