Review By Fran Watson

Best described as art for the engineer, historian, cabinet-maker and designer, Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute at the Cincinnati Art Museum fits right in with the Flagg Collection, now on view at the Taft Museum and covered a few weeks ago in CityBeat. This ingenious, multi-purpose, fine furniture, grounded in the historic 19th century, may seem a bit over the top for today, and hard to believe in its role as utilitarian home decor just a century ago, but admiring its design and elegance is all too easy.

If neoclassicism is your niche, you'll be right at home here, surrounded by every Grecian symbol appropriated by kings and emperors since the first Marathon, then latched onto by the first successful Republic (Napoleon's), and since then, in our own Federalist style. It is a theme which has never been content with brevity. A reference to stability (columns) must be followed by a sunburst (symbol of royalty) and eagles (symbol of numerous European dynasties). Still not enough to truly describe the strength of the fledgling nation, we have Egyptian symbols of royalty, picked up from Napoleon's campaign, and some innocent crossovers combining tradition with "new" Gothic design.

Delicate marquetry -- burled woods insets -- combined with ebonized wood and the flash of gilded accents are the defining features French-flavored Americana. While lathes were used for turned work, the thin pieces of marbled wood were cut and placed by hand in pencil-thin lines and intricate medallions. Two imposing examples of this genre may be seen at the entrance to the exhibit and again on a dividing panel between the two main rooms in an immense secretary/bookcase and an ebonized hall piece.

From Federalist design to Victorian wasn't a big jump in real time, but stylistically, it was immense. Few homes today could accommodate the ferocious competition of curlicues, leaves and curved edges, softened with mirrors to diminish the heavy atmosphere of all of that writhing dark wood. It was a period of many designs, all rather rococo, but actually allowing much freedom in choices, since a Victorian decor, per se, was never written in stone. These were not accouterments to a home that would ever encourage a teen-ager to collapse, feet up, into a chair, yet they untruthfully intimated that the lady of the house might lounge delicately on the curved Empire couch. Design elements rested heavily on the handy, dandy acanthus leaf, grapes and roses during this period, all of which were out of place in the true social element of the time. But apparently the homemakers of the time were unaware of their implications.

A large neoclassic-laden secretary sports gold capitols on its columns, over which rises a veritable parasol of acanthus leaves, as delicately carved as any medieval artisan could have produced. The leaves sprout from beneath another decorative wonder in one of the work tables.

If this miracle of utility should suddenly begin whistling "Dixie," it would hardly be more amazing than the pragmatic spaces it offers for every leisure activity which would occupy a lady of the day. First intended as an engagement gift, it features locked drawers circling the small top, which lifts at an angle to provide a writing surface, inside of which is more space for sewing articles. Not content with merely being practical, the wood beading -- cut to glisten like sequins around the top -- and the various inlays are true art.

Decor is a two-pronged description in Masterpieces. Jennifer Howe, associate curator of decorative arts, is responsible for the soft yellow walls suitably setting off this eclectic collection, along with clever arrangements to exhibit these pieces to their best advantage. Most notably, an s-shaped platform on which a wide variety of period chairs are shown subtly points the way to the last cluster of hardcore Victoriana. This undulating shape echoes many of the styles shown, from the ornate to the severe.

Chairs, after all, are -- or should be -- body-friendly. One of special historic interest is the Barrymore chair, a modern Gothic gem used repeatedly in Universal Studio movies. Some of the more Empire styles strive for simplicity, but not very hard. Even they couldn't resist an occasional urn or a bit of gilt.

Variety is the spice of furniture design, relying on contrasting color and burl for unique appearances. These descriptions read like an encyclopedia of woods, adding brass, glass, mother-of pearl and cloth, and their craftsmanship places them firmly in the museum venue.

E-mail Fran Watson

Quick Draw (March 23, 2000)
Quick Draw (March 9, 2000)
Curiouser and Curiouser (February 24, 2000)
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