The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs

September 20, 2009–January 3, 2010
Chilton I Gallery

A protean artist, actor, and furniture-maker dedicated to the primacy of individual expression, Charles Rohlfs (1853–1936) called his unprecedented designs “artistic furniture.” His unusually inventive forms and imaginative carving combined many different influences, from the abstract naturalism of art nouveau styling to boldly direct forms characteristic of the Arts and Crafts movement. This exhibition—the first major monograph of Rohlfs’ work—will present over forty pieces of his furniture and related objects. The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs explores the artist in the context of new research that reveals his success in Europe as well as America and traces his influence on other early 20th-century furniture designers.
 
The exhibition is organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Chipstone Foundation, and American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation. It is curated by Joseph Cunningham, Curator of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation.
 
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue of the same title published by Yale University Press in association with American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation.

Image:

Charles Rohlfs, Tall-Back Chair, c. 1898–99, from the Rohlfs home, oak, Princeton University Art Museum, Gift of Roland Rohlfs, Photo by Gavin Ashworth © Trustees of Princeton University