Modern Gothic Furniture
The term “modern Gothic” in the Decorative Arts refers to furniture and decorative objects with clean lines made from about 1870 to 1890. Also known as “art furniture” and “Queen Anne Revival”, depending on the creator, the pieces reflect the inspiration of the English “reform movement”. This movement reflected a change in taste away from the French inspired “ostentatious” highly carved Rococo Revival designs of the middle 19th century toward the careful workmanship of early English medieval inspiration.
The best reform furniture was architectural in form featuring fine woods, inlay, spindle galleries, inset tiles and shallow carving. The less ornate pieces with simpler decoration were sold at lower prices, but reflected the same elegant ideas. The most influential exponent of the reform movement was Charles Lock Eastlake, an English architect, and tastemaker. His Hints on Household Taste, published about 1868, became a bestseller in England and America. It not only presented designs for useful household furnishings, but offered advice on draperies, metalwork, ceramics and clothing. Eastlake’s book and the designs of other English reformists caught the attention of wealthy style conscious Americans and the cabinetmakers who served them.
Among the notable American cabinetmakers producing the finest examples of modern Gothic furniture were Pottier and Stymus, Kimbel and Cabus and Herter Brothers of New York, and Daniel Pabst of Philadelphia. Mass produced Eastlake inspired furniture from the 1880′s and 1890′s is not hard to find today. Those examples embody the rectilinear, sturdy forms, but without the handcrafted embellishments of the custom made pieces. Their prices at auction reflect their more modest appearance.
Our subscribers should not confuse “modern Gothic” furniture with examples from the earlier Gothic Revival period (about 1830 to 1855), which more closely embodied elements from medieval Gothic architecture. Since Charles Eastlake’s design ideas are recognizable in most modern Gothic examples, we are including “Eastlake” in the lead for ease in searching the database.
Reference note by Robert H. Goldberg, p4A editor and an Accredited Senior Member of the American Society of Appraisers from New Orleans, specializing in the appraisal of antiques and residential contents.