to the Salon
of the
LeRoy Suite of Furniture

Throne Chair Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on throne chair

Throne Chair, details of the painting Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on throne chair

Throne Chair, detail of the poem below the painting Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on throne chair Inscribed in the bottom part of the frame surrounding the painting are the last four lines of the poem The Fisherman by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, as follows: She sang to him, to him spake she, His doom was fix'd, I ween; Half drew she him, and half sank he, And ne'er again was seen.

Throne Chair, detail of the exterior design on the panel below the arm rest Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on throne chair

"Four Seasons" Screen Iris Screen with Four Paintings of Nudes, a different one on each of the four panels Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden screen

"Four Seasons" Screen, In an iris motif with four paintings of nudes, details of each of the four paintings Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden screen

Settle with Painting By LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle

Settle with Painting, detail of the painting By LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle

Settle with Painting, detail of the arm rest decoration By LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle

Settle with Painting, Detail of the inscription "LEROY" on the inside of the right arm rest By LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle

Settle with Painting, detail of a pansy By LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle

Settle with Painting, detail Believed to be by LeRoy Pyrography and color on wooden settle Inscribed with name LEROY

Douglas Schneible recently acquired this suite of three fine furniture pieces, which had been in a Rhode Island family for some sixty-five years. One of the three pieces—the settle— is inscribed with the name "LEROY." It is unknown whether this is the artist who did this piece, or it is inscribed as a dedication. All that is known of the provenance of the three pieces is that they came down through Ronald Smith's family from his late aunt and were known to have been acquired by her at auction in Warwick, Rhode Island in the 1940's.

It was originally conjectured that these pieces might be by Lawrence Willmore Pennington. Although it seems likely now that they are not specifically by him, it is still believed that they are part of the circle of L. W. Pennington.

The first of the three pieces is the beautiful throne style chair, which besides the pyrographic painting applied to the chairback, is richly decorated with textured pyrography over all of its surface. Also in burnt work, and almost hidden from view in the bottom part of the textured frame surrounding the dramatic painting, are the last four lines of von Goethe's likewise dramatic 1779 poem The Fisherman. This throne chair is extremely rare, as it was not made in a factory for unfinished pieces designed in the usual way for pyrography, but no doubt specially commissioned for this work, as were undoubtedly the other two pieces, as well.

The second item is a magnificent screen of irises, entitled "Four Seasons" and bearing four paintings—each of a different nude figure—done in pyrography and a little color applied to each of the four panels of the screen. The effect is a sort of trompe l'oeil as the four paintings appear embedded in the screen panels, although in reality each is a part of its respective screen panel.

The third piece is a charming settle, likewise decorated in pyrography in a pansy motif and also featuring a pyrographic painting with some color applied to the center of the back. The painting is a group of three women, perhaps sisters, in peasant blouses.

All three furniture pieces are undecorated on the back.

---

If you have either any questions to ask or any information to offer regarding LeRoy's burnt wood works, please e-mail the owner Douglas Schneible and the E-Museum Curator.

You are leaving the Salon of
LeRoy's
Three Furniture Pieces