FASHIONABLE FANCY
1790-1815
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FASHIONABLE FANCY
1795-1815
By the 1790s the power of fancy began to emerge as an acceptable entity for well-to-do individuals who considered themselves aware of the latest trends. Its use as an adjective became increasingly common, and with every year that passed, the word fancy defined a new group of objects. The terms "fancy furniture", "fancy pictures", "fancy painting", and "fancy needlework", appeared with increasing frequency in the popular vocabulary. During this period, fancy became increasingly associated with women, who immediately embraced its concepts. Between 1790 and 1815 fancy provided a welcome alternative to the rigid constraints imposed upon eighteenth century society by the dictates of "reason". Object:
FASHIONABLE FANCY PAINTING
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FASHIONABLE FANCY PAINTING
Marbling and graining began their ascent in the 1780s and, by 1792, they had a new name, "Fancy Painting". This painting was economical when compared to the use of exotic figured wood. Yet, to explain it in mere economic terms tells only part of the story. Real woods simply could not provide the visual impact of painted examples. One fancy painter was clearly impressed with these new techniques when he wrote, "It is doubtful whether it would be desirable to select many of the fancy woods for house decoration, in preference to the imitations which are produced by modern artists...even if they could be obtained at the same cost."
In furniture, fancy painting first appeared on table tops to suggest marble. 3. CHEST OF DRAWERS. Signed in pencil "Made by E. Morse/ Livermore [Maine] June 7th l8l4. Painted white pine. Width 36 5/8". Courtesy the Henry Ford Museum.
After 1810, fancy painting becaume quite fashionable for case pieces. Like the forms on which it was applied, it was, at first, rather conservative. Many examples were probably intended to deceive the viewer. Simulated inlays and simualted veneers combine to suggest the imitation of a more expensive piece. Even today, after a century and a half, some pieces are convincing at three or four paces.