Desk and Sidechair

Painter, sculptor, etcher, craftsman, and framemaker Frederick W. Harer learned woodworking skills from his father, who was a cabinetmaker and woodworker in Blossburg, Pennsylvania. After studying at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Harer made several trips to the British West Indies and Spain and then settled in Uhlerstown, Bucks County, in 1923. Harer’s distinctive frames, which often include stenciled and incised surface ornamentation as well as unique designs punched into the gilded frame surfaces, have earned him a reputation as a unique designer and maker of American frames. The simple rectilinear style and geometric ornamental zigzag, herringbone, and chevron decorative motifs of this desk and accompanying side chair (see 2007.11.2) are features also found on Harer’s carved and gilded frames. Although best known for his frames, Harer produced furniture in the Arts and Crafts style. Harer likely produced this slip seat upholstered side chair and desk (see 2007.11.1) en suite in the early 1930s, when his furniture was featured in the first exhibition sponsored by the loosely organized group of New Hope modernist artists known as the Independents in September 1933.