The Spencer House Suite
The 1st Earl Spencer employed James ‘Athenian’ Stuart (1713-1788),
who had just returned from Greece, to decorate a house that would
be the very first example of the accurate application of classical
design to interior decoration. Spencer House, overlooking Green Park
in St James’s, London, was intended to be at the forefront of style
and design in mid 18th century England and, as such, established the
Spencers as a family of great intellect, sophistication and taste.
This sofa and chair were part of a suite of seat furniture that is amongst
the most successful of John Gordon’s work. Gordon (fl. 1748-d. 1777),
a cabinet-maker and upholsterer, was likely involved in furnishing
Spencer House from the beginning. The hybrid Neo-Classical design
exhibited in the suite seems to be the result of collaboration between
James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, who replaced John Vardy as architect of
Spencer House in 1758, and John Gordon. James ‘Athenian’ Stuart is
widely recognized for his central role in pioneering Neo-Classicism.
His influential career ranged across interior decoration, sculpture,
furnishing, metalwork and architecture.
Both the 1st Earl Spencer and Stuart were members of the Society
of Dilettanti and it was under this Society’s patronage that Stuart
travelled with Nicholas Revett to Athens in 1751, resulting in the
eventual publication of Stuart and Revett’s ‘The Antiquities of
Athens’. The creation of the ‘Greek Style’ and its impact on British
design in the late 18th century is largely due to this landmark
publication, the first accurate record of Classical Greek architecture,
which served as a principal source book for architects and designers
well into the 19th century.
A463M
The Spencer House Sofa
A463M
The Spencer House Sofa
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