the great one. He was born in Worcester, England, about 1710, and died
in 1779. He and his father, who was also a carver, came to London before
1727. Very little is known about his life, but we may feel sure he was
that rare combination: a man of genius with decided business ability. He
not only designed the furniture which was made in his shop, but executed
a large part of it also, and superintended all the work done there by
others. That he was a man of originality shows distinctly through his
work, for although he adapted and copied freely and was strongly
influenced by the Dutch, French, and "Chinese taste," there is always
his own distinctive touch. The furniture of his best period, and those
belonging to his school, has great beauty of line and proportion, and
the exquisite carving shows a true feeling for ornament in relation to
plain surfaces. There are a few examples in existence of carving in
almost as high relief as that of Grinling Gibbons, swags, etc., and in
his most rococo period his carving was very elaborate. It always had
great clearness of edge and cut, and a wonderful feeling for light and
shade. In what is called "Irish Chippendale," which was furniture made
in Ireland after the style of Chippendale, the carving was in low relief
and the edges fairly smoothed off, which made it much less interesting.

Chippendale looked upon his work as one of the arts and placed his ideal
of achievement very high, and that he received the recognition of the
best people of the time as an artist of merit is proved by his election
to the Society of Arts with such men as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Horace
Walpole, Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, and others.

The genius of Chippendale justly puts him in the front rank of
cabinet-makers and his influence was the foundation of much of the fine
work done by many others during the eighteenth century. He is often
criticized for his excessive rococo taste as displayed in the plates of