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Chair Chat with Charlie Ryland – Sitting with the Past: Ladderback Chairs and Enslaved Labor in Early America
In conjunction with our 2025 exhibit, Please Be Seated: Chairs of Old New England, the Wentworth House will be hosting Chair Chats with artisans Allan Breed and Charlie Ryland.
Charlie Ryland: Chair Maker, Teacher, Researcher
Join us at the Wentworth House on September 17 as noted artisan Charlie Ryland presents a talk on “Sitting with the Past: Ladderback Chairs and Enslaved Labor in Early America.”
DATE: Wednesday, September 17
TIME: 6:30 pm
A chair maker, teacher and researcher currently based in New Hampshire, Ryland trained in period furniture and cabinet making at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. He has since gone on to specialize in the “green wood” styles and techniques of Windsor and ladderback chairs, and has done extensive research into enslaved and free Black furniture builders.
Admission is by donation. Afterwards, visitors will also have an opportunity to view the exhibit, which features a variety of 17th through early 19th century chairs, most on loan from private collections and many made in the Piscataqua region. We will also be holding a chair chat on September 10 with Allan Breed.