Description Thornwillow Press in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art proudly published for the first time Chippendale’s original pen-and-ink drawings for his 1754 volume. Of the 147 surviving drawings, 142 are at the Metropolitan. The edition is planned in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the artist’s birth, and will include a list of subscribers, together with introductory essays by Morrison Heckscher, former Chairman of the American Wing; renowned English furniture maker David Linley, 2nd Earl of Snowdon; and Femke Speelberg, Associate Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints. The drawings offer a unique window into Chippendale’s design process and the evolution of The Director. Until now, they have only been seen by those fortunate enough to be granted access to the original drawings in the Metropolitan Museum Collection. They are, in short, essential to the canon of craft and design.
