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Side chair, one of four Side chair, one of four

William Gray Purcell
George Grant Elmslie

c. 1914

50 x 19 1/4 x 20 in. (127 x 48.9 x 50.8 cm)

Gift of Susan Decker Barrows

Accession #: 93.89.1

In 1913 Purcell and Elmslie built a large summer residence for Edward W. Decker, a Minneapolis banker, on a wooded lot on Lake Minnetonka. The dining room furniture is unlike any other by Purcell and Elmslie. It is constructed of pine, a wood appropriate for a summer house, with chair seats upholstered in hard-wearing horsehair, once a deep blue. The chair backs have no decorative design, letting the form tell the story. The molding on the side-rail terminals and on the feet matched that of the built-in buffets. Purcell later noted that, "Mr. Decker spent all the money that was necessary to make our architectural thesis complete in all its detail...really an integral work in every department." [Insert photo of Decker Dining Room here - NWAA photo]
object 40 of 116

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