On a 1985 visit to Whirlwind Hill, I needed a calming focus while I spent two weeks with my two young children and my wonderful, but very talkative mother. I decided to draw all the chairs in my parents’ house. I made a good start of it, but I didn’t get very far. Still, it was a good exercise in looking, and I came to appreciate the intricacy and the beauty and the history of this furniture.
The farmhouse living room was a hodgepodge of chairs, sofas, lamps, and tables – some antique, and some not. Above all, the space was comfortable and light – a perfect multi-purpose room. My parents’ living room was also spacious and bright, and some of the furniture in it came from the farm. Chairs were moved around to meet the demands of guests, Christmas trees, pets, and playing children. Below is a photo of the farmhouse living room in the 1950’s.
The farmhouse living room in the 1940’s
Here are a few of the chairs I drew on that 1985 visit. My drawings were too big to scan, so I apologize for the quality of the photos.
The Fancy Chair
With their low pink seats and straight backs, this chair and its mate are rarely used for sitting. They flank the living room fireplace in a rather useless, but decorative manner.
“The Fancy Chair,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
A Wooden Chair
This little wooden chair is also uncomfortable, but it holds a special place in Whirlwind Hill lore because it is very, very old. At least I think it is.
“The Little Wooden Chair,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
The Low Rocking Chair
Now that I look at this drawing, I’m trying to place the chair but can’t remember seeing it lately. I’ll have to look next time I’m back on Whirlwind Hill.
“The Low Rocking Chair,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
The Upholstered Rocker
I like to picture my mother rocking me in this chair when I was a baby on the farm. Did this really happen? I have a vague memory of her telling me that it did.
“The Upholstered Rocker,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
Me as a baby on the farm with my Grandma Crump, my mother, and my Great-grandma Barton
The Chair with the Velvet Seat
For a long time this chair sat at the end of a long hallway leading to the bedrooms in my parents’ house. There was an oval mirror hanging above it and a long patterned runner on the floor. I did a linocut of this scene, and it’s now hanging in that same hallway.
“The Chair with the Velvet Seat,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
“Hallway,” Carol Crump Bryner, linocut print, 1975
The Queen Anne Chair
My mother was proud of this chair. It had a long history on the farm. My great-grandmother, Lydia Jane Hall, was photographed sitting elegantly on its seat. No one sits in it now, (it, too, is uncomfortable) but maybe someday one of my great-grandchildren will look at this photo of me and my great-aunt Hattie sitting on the chair and say, “That’s my great-grandmother Carol sitting in the Queen Anne Chair.”
“The Queen Anne Chair,” Carol Crump Bryner, pencil drawing, 1985
Lydia Jane Hall, around 1900
Aunt Hattie and Carol, Christmas, 1946
Drawing is way to explore and learn and really, really look. Painting seems to me to be a medium that brings objects and scenes to life. In my next post I’ll share a few of the many (I count close to one hundred) paintings I’ve done of chairs.
Seems like there were lots of uncomfortable chairs! I have the two rocking chairs from the picture of the living room. The upholstered one is very comfortable and used on a daily basis and the caned one is okay, although it often makes you feel like you might go over backwards. I also have the print you did from that picture of the living room. Everyone loves getting to see that the chairs in the print are actually in our house. As always, thanks for sharing Carol!
The chair I always liked on the farm was the big green leather one that Grampa Hall sat in when he watched wrestling on TV and smoked his cigars.
I love your chair paintings. It is a delight to learn a bit of the background. We have uncomfortable chairs among our family possessions, too. I hang on to them, even though making them comfortable seems impossible. Designing and building a truly comfortable chair cannot be easy. And long ago, before electric light, I imagine people did not sit as much as we do now? I am so glad you are occasionally adding to your blog, Carol.
Thanks, Bonny. I imaging that people would have to sit up straight and lean toward the lamplight. And farmers never must have had much time for sitting. Glad you’re enjoying my blog additions. And I always enjoy your comments!
Great post – just love picturing you making the drawings in the midst of just a little chaos! I so associate you with chairs – comfy ones and ones composed of pencil lines. Looking forward to the painted ones.
Thanks, Katy. I think we both used drawing as a salvation in those chaotic days of young children. And such a good salvation it was.
I believe the low armed, higher backed rocking chair is a nursing chair. The arms are just right for holding a baby and giving the mother support. We had one of these lent to us for our first child. I love the way your drawing, literally, teases out the past for all of us, placing it in its time and ours. I’ve found it lovely how these uncomfortable, old chairs still manage to hold a place in our living rooms, while ghosts of ladies and gentlemen, backs not touching their backs, pose for pictures and future family gatherings.
How wonderful to think that that chair was made especially for nursing. I think many a baby has been rocked in it. Susan, your comments are always so poetic and lovely. You’re such a good writer. I’m always glad to hear from you.
I’ve always loved your chair paintings Carol. It’s so much fun to see these drawings and read your thoughts!
Thanks, Michelle. When I get back to Anchorage we’ll have to sit in some comfy chairs and have tea, so I can hear all about your travels!
Boy did this entry resonate! Family chairs hold stories for me. I remember specific people sitting in them, as in, that’s “Grandma’s chair”, and there are the stories told about them told by others that say something about family. Anyway, chairs are a theme. But really it was your point, that they are more difficult to draw than one might think and are therefore good objects for learning to actually see what one is looking at; a continual challenge for me…to see what’s there rather than what I think is there.
So good to hear from you Mary Jenne. It’s so easy and so universal to connected certain chairs with certain people. And, yes, they are difficult to draw, and the challenge is, as you say, to draw what’s there rather than what you think is there.