Discover the basement collection where Yale's 1,000-plus furniture and wooden artifact gems are stashed away. This audio slideshow is narrated by curators and experts Patricia E. Kane, Edward S. Cooke Jr., and John Stuart Gordon.
Tour the subterranean Furniture Study and see the rows of furniture, from colonial to contemporary, arranged chronologically by form. In spite of the humble quarters, Yale's collection is a boon for period-furniture enthusiasts and also works as a resource for modern makers.
"We love having contemporary furniture makers come in, use this collection, not only as a source for replicating the past but to take bits and pieces of the history of American furniture making and use them for modern works," said Gordon, an assistant curator of American Decorative Arts.
The collection's focus on learning makes it stand out. "This is a unique place, I mean there is just no other institution, and that's either university or a museum, that I think really dictates this kind of commitment, by space and by staffing, to make a collection accessible to scholars… as well as people who call ahead for an appointment to be able to look at things," said Cooke, the Charles F. Montgomery professor of the history of art at Yale.
The study is open to individuals or small groups by appointment. Through prior arrangement, staff can try to accommodate special requests, such as allowing furniture measurements. For more information, call 203-432-0632, e-mail, or visit the Furniture Study Web site.
Photos: Lorien Crow; courtesy the Yale University Art Gallery
