Armchair

CFA Voysey

Britain  1905-6

Oak armchair with a cane or rush seat, serpentine top rail above a heart pierced splat.  Voysey is a hugely influential designer credited with being the father of the modern movement in architecture; he is said to have been an early influence upon Charles Rennie Mackintosh.  Born in Hull in 1857, he was taught by his heretic father and started life as a tutor before he began developing wallpaper and textiles.  From this he branched out into architecture, his building characterised by low and long walls with a high peaking roof.  He built his own house, ‘The Orchard’ and designed the furniture within it.  This chair is characteristic of his work.  It is very simple with subtle design and evocative of rural, vernacular British living. 

Chairs