Banjo Chair

Copied Unidentified, Banjo Chair, ca. 1875, turned, inlaid, painted, stained, and varnished wood, 41 x 15 3⁄8 x 20 5⁄8 in. (104.2 x 39.1 x 52.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.73
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Artwork Details

Title
Banjo Chair
Artist
Unidentified
Date
ca. 1875
Location
Dimensions
41 x 15 3⁄8 x 20 5⁄8 in. (104.2 x 39.1 x 52.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
turned, inlaid, painted, stained, and varnished wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — musical instrument — banjo
Object Number
1986.65.73
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.73

Artwork Description

An unknown artist probably made this piece for a minstrel show during the late nineteenth century. Minstrel shows were hugely popular, and the instruments, especially the banjo, often appeared as decorative furniture, clocks, and wall hangings. The artist created Banjo Chair by fixing brackets around the seat, carving the seat back to resemble a peghead, and inlaying thin strips of wood to represent the strings. (Lynda Hartigan, Made with Passion, 1990)