Desk and Bookcase
- Date
- 1788–91
- made in
- Richmond, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Furniture
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- On View, the Alexandria Room
- Dimensions
- 101 1/2 x 44 x 20 1/8 in. (257.8 x 111.8 x 51.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Shop Fund and funds given by Mrs. Ernstine R. Kiefer, Museum Purchase, by exchange, Dr. and Mrs. Hugh R. Waters, bequest of Mrs. Letticia Parker Williams, by exchange, bequest of Anne Lehmann, by exchange, The Lea-Thi-Ta Study Group, and bequest of Helen K. Baer, by exchange
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 7:2000a-d
NOTES
In eighteenth-century America the combined desk and bookcase answered the need for the order, security, and storage of a variety of valuables such as business accounts, legal documents, books, textiles, jewelry, and money. Locked behind the hinged desk lid, which also served as a writing surface, is a desk interior fitted with eight pigeonhole compartments and eight small drawers. The bookcase section has moveable shelves and curtains to protect books from light. Although complex in function, this desk and bookcase is a restrained design of harmonious proportions and precise architectural ornament. The large drawers diminish gradually in height toward the top. The bookcase doors have thin strips of wood framing panes of glass that create light and open patterns of squares and hexagons. Crowning the whole is an open basket-weave element, a scrolled pediment with carved spirals and a vase of flowers.
Provenance
- still in 1944
Mr. and Mrs. J. Amory Haskell
1944/05/17-20
In auction, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, "American Collection of the Late Mrs. Amory Haskell," May 17-20, 1944, lot no. 581 [1]
by 1966 - 1999
Amory Lawrence Haskell (d.1966) and Blanche Angell Haskell, Rumsford, NJ and Palm Beach, FL, by inheritance [2]
1999/01/16 - 2000
Sumpter Priddy III, Inc., Alexandria, VA, purchased at auction, Sotheby's, New York, "Important Americana," January 16-18, 1999, lot no. 859 [3]
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. [3]
Notes:
[1] The piece was included in the auction catalog for the 1944 sale ["American Collection of the Late Mrs. Amory Haskell." Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, May 17 - 20, 1944, lot no. 581]. However, according to a letter from the daughter of Blanche Haskell to Sumpter Priddy, the piece was in the possession of Mr. and Mrs. J. Amory Haskell and subsequently their son Amory Lawrence Haskell and his wife Blanche Haskell [letter, February 11, 1999; SLAM document files]. Whether the piece did not sell at auction or was later purchased back by the descendants is unknown.
[2] See note [1].
[3] See auction catalogue ["Important Americana." Sotheby's, New York, January 16-18, 1999, lot no. 859].
[4] Invoice from Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. dated February 8, 2000 [SLAM document files] and Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 9, 2000.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Amory Haskell
1944/05/17-20
In auction, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, "American Collection of the Late Mrs. Amory Haskell," May 17-20, 1944, lot no. 581 [1]
by 1966 - 1999
Amory Lawrence Haskell (d.1966) and Blanche Angell Haskell, Rumsford, NJ and Palm Beach, FL, by inheritance [2]
1999/01/16 - 2000
Sumpter Priddy III, Inc., Alexandria, VA, purchased at auction, Sotheby's, New York, "Important Americana," January 16-18, 1999, lot no. 859 [3]
2000 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. [3]
Notes:
[1] The piece was included in the auction catalog for the 1944 sale ["American Collection of the Late Mrs. Amory Haskell." Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, May 17 - 20, 1944, lot no. 581]. However, according to a letter from the daughter of Blanche Haskell to Sumpter Priddy, the piece was in the possession of Mr. and Mrs. J. Amory Haskell and subsequently their son Amory Lawrence Haskell and his wife Blanche Haskell [letter, February 11, 1999; SLAM document files]. Whether the piece did not sell at auction or was later purchased back by the descendants is unknown.
[2] See note [1].
[3] See auction catalogue ["Important Americana." Sotheby's, New York, January 16-18, 1999, lot no. 859].
[4] Invoice from Sumpter Priddy III, Inc. dated February 8, 2000 [SLAM document files] and Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 9, 2000.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.