FURNITURE 

Side Chair
Attributed to William Buttre (1782-1864)
Albany, New York
Painted ash, beech, tulip and rush, 1815-18
AIHA Collection (Kohn Fund)

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 signaled the beginning of a century of growth for Albany as a center of trade, manufacturing, and population in upstate New York. Like other communities in the region, Albany also became part of an expanding American market for consumer goods. Scottish-born William Buttre originally settled in New York City, where he found work in cabinetmaking but by 1815, had settled in Albany and operated a shop there as well as one in New York City. 

Buttre specialized in the manufacture of "fancy chairs." Painted "fancy" furniture in many styles, forms and finishes satisfied a growing American hunger for consumer goods. Made in large numbers in New York and other American cities after 1800, it was inspired by furniture from ancient Greece and Rome. Interest in these chairs reflected rising nationalism, growing disposable cash income, and demand for the latest fashions. Easy to manufacture and relatively inexpensive, fancy chairs were popular among people of all social and economic classes. 

Only three other chairs of this kind are known to exist and all four chairs are from the same set; two are at Winterthur and one is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.