Byrdcliffe Linen Press
Recreating a classic cabinet that breaks the
rules of Arts & Crafts.
T
he his tor y of mos t pieces of furniture can be traced back to one
individual – usually the designer, the maker or the client. The
roots of this linen press spread to include a fascinating group of people
at an early 20th-century art colony known as Byrdcliffe, located near
Woodstock, N.Y.
With its carved door panels and distinctive colors, this unusual
cabinet is one of the fi nest examples of the Arts & Crafts period. The
basic form can be traced back to English designs of the period, but the
stylized carving and overall proportions make it unique. The original is
par t of the collec tion of the Metropolitan Museum of Ar t in New York.
Fewer than 50 pieces of furniture were made at Byrdclif fe bet ween
1903 and 1905. Fewer than half of those found buyers; the remain-
ing pieces were found in various buildings at the colony after the 1976
death of the founder’s son. Many of these had been left unfi nished,
the idea being that the buyer could choose a color when purchasing.
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