America, Rhode Island, Newport, 18th century / c. 1780–95
Desk and Bookcase
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Desk and Bookcase as furniture and woodwork (America, Rhode Island, Newport, 18th century · c. 1780–95).
This desk and bookcase was likely made for Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of Connecticut.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this furniture and woodwork as "Plum pudding" mahogany, red cedar, chestnut, white pine, brass and credits John Townsend (American, 1732–1809).
The museum's collection notes: In the 1700s, Newport, Rhode Island, was the fifth largest city in North America and one of the most important centers of shipping and trade along the Eastern Seaboard. Orders for furniture from its celebrated cabinetmakers came in from far and wide. This desk and bookcase was likely made for Oliver Wolcott Sr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor of the State of Connecticut. Eventually, the desk passed down through his family to Dorothy Draper, an important 20th-century interior decorator, and ultimately to her daughter, Penelope Draper Buchanan, whose husband gave it to the museum after her death—a rare, unbroken
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtDesk and BookcaseOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.