Furniture

The Lady Lever Art Gallery’s holdings of furniture range in date from the late 16th century to the beginning of the 19th. This covers what in Lord Leverhulme’s lifetime was considered to be the definitive period of fine English cabinet-making.

Leverhulme was one of the first collectors to attempt to create a comprehensive collection of English furniture across this period. It now constitutes one of his greatest achievements in the campaign to demonstrate the merits of British art.

Ironically, Leverhulme’s intuitive liking for virtuosity and colour led him to pursue the very grandest of English furniture. This was often influenced by Continental, and primarily French, styles. This is especially true of the outstanding group of marquetry and painted commodes (a type of low cabinet or chest of drawers) of the 1760s to 1780s, by far his favourite collecting period.

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Commodes (Low Cabinets)

Other Furniture

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