C.R. ASHBEE (1863-1942) FOR THE GUILD OF HANDICRAFT PAIR OF ARTS & CRAFTS ARMCHAIRS, CIRCA 1900 oak, reupholstered in original Silver Studios woven fabric, close-nailed finish.

(74.5cm wide, 110cm high, 61cm deep)

Literature: Der Moderne Stil, 1905, vol. 7, pl. 8, fig. 6 (for an example with inlaid splat); The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art, 1907, p. 47 (for an example photographed within a Cheyne Walk interior); Crawford, Alan, C.R. Ashbee: Architect, Designer & Romantic Socialist, Yale, 1985, p. 287. Exhibited: Compton Verney The Arts & Crafts House: Then and Now, 27 June - 13 September 2015; Chipping Campden, Court Barn Women in the Arts & Crafts Movement, July 27th - October 28th 2018 Note: The architect C. R. Ashbee was a leading figure in the Arts & Crafts movement in Britain, but also had considerable influence in Europe particularly with the Wiener Werkstatte in Vienna. He founded the Guild of Handicraft in 1888 and created most of its furniture designs. It was in about 1900 that he began designing chairs which are characteristically simple in form, typically composed of solid elements softened by some curved feature – in this instance the back splat and subtle splay of the feet.