Part of an exquisite suite of three furniture scale works of art including this four panel screen, a settle, and a throne chair, the settle marked "LeRoy", the suite decended into the Smith family of Providence, Rhode Island and was originally acquired at auction in Warwick, RI sometime in the 1940’s.

Part of an exquisite suite of three furniture scale works of art including this settle marked "LeRoy", a throne chair, and a four panel screen, the suite decended into the Smith family of Providence, Rhode Island and was originally acquired at auction in Warwick, RI sometime in the 1940’s.

Provenance

This is part of a suite of Furniture pieces, which had been in a Rhode Island family for some sixty-five years. One of the three pieces—the settle— is inscribed with the name “LEROY.” It is unknown whether this is the artist who did this piece, or it is inscribed as a dedication. All that is known of the provenance of the three pieces is that they came down through Ronald Smith’s family from his late aunt and were known to have been acquired by her at auction in Warwick, Rhode Island in the 1940’s.

It was originally conjectured that these pieces might be by Lawrence Willmore Pennington. Although it seems likely now that they are not specifically by him, it is still believed that they are part of the circle of L. W. Pennington.

Three Pieces in suite

The first of the three pieces is the beautiful throne style chair, which besides the pyrographic painting applied to the chairback, is richly decorated with textured pyrography over all of its surface. Also in burnt work, and almost hidden from view in the bottom part of the textured frame surrounding the dramatic painting, are the last four lines of von Goethe’s likewise dramatic 1779 poem The Fisherman. This throne chair is extremely rare, as it was not made in a factory for unfinished pieces designed in the usual way for pyrography, but no doubt specially commissioned for this work, as were undoubtedly the other two pieces, as well.

The second item is a magnificent screen of irises, entitled “Four Seasons” and bearing four paintings—each of a different nude figure—done in pyrography and a little color applied to each of the four panels of the screen. The effect is a sort of trompe l’oeil as the four paintings appear embedded in the screen panels, although in reality each is a part of its respective screen panel.

The third piece is a charming settle, likewise decorated in pyrography in a pansy motif and also featuring a pyrographic painting with some color applied to the center of the back. The painting is a group of three women, perhaps sisters, in peasant blouses.

All three furniture pieces are undecorated on the back.