Mission style ....... Illustrated FURNITURE Glossary

David Kendall

Photographs by
Robert Klein
Roberts Antiques and Restorations
2500 North T St.

Pensacola, Fl  32505

David Wolcott Kendall  (b. 1851, d. 1910) was born in Rochester, New York, the son of a cabinetmaker who taught him the trade.

He came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1879 to work for Phoenix Furniture Company, and began a career that had significant and lasting effects on the furniture industry. A man of varied interests and talents, he set up a chemistry laboratory in the basement at Phoenix and developed special finishes that transformed wood such as oak and ash into products more attractive to customers of the period.

David Kendall traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and Central America to study new forms and decorative motifs in furniture design. The many rare and beautiful objects he acquired in his travels are still in the collection of Kendall [School of Art].

His lasting designs earned him the moniker “Dean of American Furniture Designers” and included a version of the Morris Chair that became known as the “McKinley Chair” after President McKinley selected one for installation in the White House. Kendall was also credited with developing an office chair that revolves and reclines.

See also:  Mission Sideboard, by David Kendall

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Special thanks to Robert Klein for the use of his photographs in 2014.
Page by Chuck LaChiusa in 2014
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