LATE 19TH CENTURY

The end of the 19th century marked the rise of the great American industrial fortunes and essentially ushered in the 'Gilded Age' in its full glory. Although the elite businessmen of the time were referred to as 'Robber Barons' for their sometimes unscrupulous business practices, it is largely for their philanthropy that America's early captains of industry are remembered. Few art collections rivaled those of Henry Clay Frick, William Randolph Hearst and Cornelius Vanderbilt, among others, and even fewer works of art remain in private hands recalling the lavish tastes of the opulent era. This profusely-carved suite of seating furniture (lots 134-136) captures the spirit and robust collecting history of Charles Deering, a Chicago industrialist and founding member of the agriculture machinery company which became International Harvester. Known as an avid collector and patron of the arts, his extensive collection comprising primarily Spanish works was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago upon his death in 1927.
As illustrated in archival photos from its donation in 1947, this impressive and imposing suite was formerly covered in exquisite needlepoint tapestry dating from 1689 to 1705 and supposedly commissioned for Palazzo Albicini in Forli, Italy. Though now lacking, the tapestry was almost certainly supplied by renowned Washington textile collector Charles Ffoulke (d. 1909), who rose to fame in 1889 when he purchased 135 tapestries from the Barberini family collection in Rome. While it is unclear if the frames originated in Ffoulke's collection, the connection is strengthened further by his early ties with Samuel Mitchell's French & Company, which was founded in 1907 with financial backing and initial stock from Ffoulke's own exceptional collection. Charles Deering, to whom Mitchell sold the present suite, would become a frequent client of French & Company and joined the firm's extensive register of affluent Gilded Age clientele.