Chair (sculpture)

Chair

Artist	Bassett Furniture
Year	1959 (1959)
Type	sculpture
Dimensions	590 cm × 370 cm (234 in × 144 in)
Location	Washington, D.C.
	38°51′55.44″N 76°59′22.94″W / 38.8654°N 76.9897056°W / 38.8654; -76.9897056
Owner	Curtis Investments

Chair is a public artwork designed as an advertisement by Bassett Furniture, located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Ave. & V. Street S.E., in the Anacostia neighorhood of Washington, D.C., United States of America. Chair was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994. It was once considered the World's Largest Chair,^[1] but has been overtaken by works like Broken Chair in Geneva and the temporary The Writer on Hampstead Heath in London.

Description

The chair, which stands at 19 1/2 feet high, is a detail-to-detail replica of a Duncan Phyfe style chair. Painted brown with a white and brown striped "cushion" the chair is entirely made of aluminum. Weighing between 4,000-4,600 pounds, the chair sits on a concrete base.^[1]

Acquisition

The chair was built in 1959 by Virginia based furniture maker Bassett Furniture. The concept for the chair came from Charles Curtis, of the Curtis Brothers Furniture company, as a clever way to bring customers to their family showroom which was located on the grounds where the chair is currently placed.^[1]

The piece was dedicated on July 11, 1959 and a plaque was placed with it stating:

THE WORLD'S LARGEST CHAIR

PRESENTED TO

CURTIS BROS.

FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP

AND SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC/BY THE

BASSETT FURNITURE INDUSTRIES.

THE CHAIR MADE OF SOUND HONDURAS MAHOGANY

IS 19 1/2 FEET TALL AND WEIGHS 4000 POUNDS

DEDICATED JULY 11, 1959

DESIGNED

LEO M. HIRAMETT

BUILT BY J. E. BASSETT, JR.^[1]

Rededication

John Kidwell, the caretaker of the Chair, frequently patched holes that would form after heavy rains with cement. During the days of August 23–24, 2005, the original Chair was disassembled by a backhoe and taken away for restoration. Made entirely of Honduras Mahogany, the legs had begun to rot. On April 25, 2006, the chair was returned by Curtis Properties (was Curtis Brothers), however, this was a new chair, made entirely of brown aluminum. Over 250 people attended the re-dedication including Mayor Anthony A. Williams.^[2]

With the dedication of a new chair, a new plaque was placed reading:

THE BIG CHAIR

RE-DEDICATION APRIL 25, 2006

THIS COMMUNITY LANDMARK REPRESENTS THE CURTIS COMPANIES

LONG-STANDING ALLEGIANCE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND

STEADFAST COMMITMENT TO UNITY, PROSPERITY, AND GOOD WILL

TO ALL WASHINGTONIANS AND FRIENDS OF ANACOSTIA.

This new chair was designed by John Kidwell & Lomax. It was fabricated by Cinnbar, an Orlando-based business known for their oversized objects, and Nelson's Welding. The new chair cost over $40,000 to build. Upon its delivery, by flatbed truck, overpasses had to be avoided due to the size of the chair.^[2]

Looking Glass House

On August 13, 1960, Rebecca Kirby (aka Lynn Arnold) moved "onto" the chair. A 10-by-10 foot cubicle was built and placed on the seat furnished with a shower, bed, toilet, heater, air conditioner and balcony. Placed upon the chair by way of forklift, Kirby lived in the chair for 42 days. In the cubicle she would watch TV, read books, and talk on the telephone, as well as dine, as her meals were delivered every day.^[2]

Kirby would step outside onto the balcony every few hours to greet visitors who learned about her living situation due to newspapers advertising her as "Alice in the Looking Glass House." Visitors would be encouraged to guess how long she'd maintain her residency. Her then 14-month-old son, Richard, visited often, being placed in a dumb waiter and sent up to see her.^[2]

After 42 days Kirby "decided to return to earth," earning $1,500 for her stay.^[2]

Community reception

The Chair has been received as apart of neighborhood life since it's original installation. Anacostia, a neighborhood that has seen ups and downs in economic and cultural areas, prides itself on a landmark that has withstood the evolution of the community.^[2]

Often used as a geographic marker for direction giving and holiday celebration (Santa Claus sits upon the chair during Christmas.), when the Chair was reinstalled in 2006 community members surrounded the giant, clapping, yelling and photographing the new chair.^[2]

During the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots the chair was one of the few landmarks to go unscathed in a neighborhood heavily affected by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death.^[3]

External links

• Roadside America about "One-Time World's Largest Chair"
• The Chair on Waymarking

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Save Outdoor Sculptures! (1994). "Chair, (sculpture).". SOS!. Smithsonian. http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?&profile=all&source=~!siartinventories&uri=full=3100001~!323187~!0#focus. Retrieved 1 Feb 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Paul Schwartzman (2006). "The Big Chair, Rebuilt to Last". Anacostia. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041500871.html. Retrieved 2 Feb 2011. 
3. ^ Paul Schwartzman (2006). "The Return of the Big Chair: A Very Big Deal". Anacostia. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501682.html. Retrieved 1 Feb 2011.