W. R. Lethaby. Rare Arts & Crafts Sculptured Oak Armchair with Shaped Arms

W. R. Lethaby

A rare Arts & Crafts sculptured oak armchair with shaped arms, shaped headrest, and lower stretchers united by large plank uprights. Lethaby was one of the most influential architectural historians of the nineteenth century. While working as assistant to R. Norman Shaw from 1879-90, he drew greatly on the Art Workers' Guild in his designs and influence. He published books including Architecture, Mysticism and Myth, and later, in 1894, The Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: a study of Byzantine Building.

Common themes in his works combine religion, myth, and architecture. Lecturing at the Royal College of Art as professor of Design and Ornament, he went on to set up an Arts and Crafts education in London: the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1896. He was also a member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, as well as co-founder of the Design and Industries Association in 1915. Lethaby's writing expresses his theory that design should come about as a reflection of modern values.

The building of a modern structure using traditional/historical styles was not correct, for the style is inseparable from the society in which it was born.