In middle age, as his taste shifted, he and his wife Jean Outland Chrysler assembled an extraordinary collection of Art Nouveau furniture and other decorative arts which they first used to furnish their Provincetown, Massachusetts, residence and later their Norfolk home.
As a result, the Museum today possesses splendid holdings in these areas, including outstanding examples by Louis Majorelle and Emile Gallé. The Chrysler has subsequently added significant objects to complement its 19th-century holdings.
Prior to Mr. Chrysler’s arrival the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences had received several important examples of Southern furniture as gifts, and the Chrysler also houses a substantial collection of 18th-century Worchester porcelain that is on long term loan from the City of Norfolk. This porcelain was given and bequeathed to the City of Norfolk by the late Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay Hofheimer II. The Museum today possesses splendid holdings in these areas, including outstanding examples of furniture, bronze sculpture, silver, and ceramics.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, designer (English, 1836–1912)' Johnstone, Norman & Co., manufacturer. Music Cabinet, 1884–85; Ebony, box-and rosewood, cedar, ivory, mother-of-pearl, abalone shell, marble and brass
This extraordinary cabinet was designed by the famous English painter, Lawrence Alma-Tadema for the music room of Henry G. Marquand's New York City residence. Marquand (1819–1902) was a railroad magnate and founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt (1827–1895) to design the house, which was lavishly decorated in a range of historical styles to complement Marquand's vast and eclectic collection of art. The mansion's rooms included a Moorish smoking room, a Japanese chamber, and the Greek revival music parlor.
In addition to its main building in downtown Norfolk, the Chrysler Museum of Art also administers two important Historic Houses:
Norfolk History Museum
The Norfolk History Museum at the Willoughby-Baylor House was built in 1794 and currently features permanent and changing exhibit galleries that highlight vignettes of the city, showcasing Norfolk’s evolving history not only as an international port and maritime center, but also as a focal point of commercial growth with impressive naval and military roots. More.
Moses Myers House
The Moses Myers House in downtown Norfolk is the oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum, and offers an exceptionally accurate portrayal of life in the 18th Century. The Moses Myers House was constructed between 1795-97 as the residence of Moses Myers and his family, and remarkably, 70 percent of the original contents remain there today. More.
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