Minneapolis Institute of Art

Side chair, one of four

Designer: William Gray Purcell; Designer: George Grant Elmslie; Manufacturer: John S. Bradstreet and Company

Date

c. 1914

Medium

Pine, horsehair upholstery

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

In 1913 Purcell and Elmslie built a large summer residence for Edward W. Decker, a Minneapolis banker, on a wooded lot on Lake Minnetonka. The dining room furniture is unlike any other by Purcell and Elmslie. It is constructed of pine, a wood appropriate for a summer house, with chair seats upholstered in hard-wearing horsehair, once a deep blue. The chair backs have no decorative design, letting the form tell the story. The molding on the side-rail terminals and on the feet matched that of the built-in buffets. Purcell later noted that, Mr. Decker spent all the money that was necessary to make our architectural thesis complete in all its detail...really an integral work in every department. [Insert photo of Decker Dining Room here - NWAA photo] United States, Americas

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