1860-1890; 1934 painted

Blanket Chest

Like many artists living in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Edward Redfield was fascinated by Bucks County’s early history and particularly the crafts made in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; his studio was furnished with antique furniture that occasionally appeared in his paintings. The birds and flowers on this chest were inspired by Pennsylvania German examples, although Redfield departed from these earlier models by using a dark background and painterly technique. The donors who gave the chest to the Museum acquired it from the artist, who only decorated a few pieces of furniture, primarily for family and friends.