Chester Cornett (1913–1981) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chair-maker Since the mid-17th century a chair-maker, or chairbler, is a craftsperson in the furniture trades specializing in chairs. Before that time seats were made by joiners, turners, and coffermakers, and woven seats were made by basketmakers. In 18th- ...

and artisan His work have been the subject of

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

ic treatment both by regional museums and the

University of Kentucky Press The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

. Cornett's grandfather, Cal Foutch, taught him chairmaking. Cornett worked in many styles: "pegged and slat-backed armchairs, rockers, and folding chairs from a variety of local

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

s, weaving seats from hickory bark.". The 1981 documentary film ''Hand Carved'' by

Appalshop Appalshop is a media, arts, and education center located in Whitesburg, Kentucky, in the heart of the southern Appalachian region of the United States. History Appalshop was founded in 1969 as the Appalachian Film Workshop, a project of the Un ...

features Cornett's chair-building process. The eight-legged, two-in-one rocker created over the course of the film was loaned by Appalshop to KFAC for its 2014 traveling exhibit. Cornett's work "Crucifix" is in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum. According to Cornett, he dreamed in 1968 that Eastern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

would experience a

biblical flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...

. He decided to prepare for it by building an ark. Cornett built the ark, but it was destroyed in a storm. What remained was a 20 foot long

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

that he had carved for the bow. After moving to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Cornett donated the cross to the museum In 2014,

Kentucky Folk Art Center The Kentucky Folk Art Center is a folk art museum administered by Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. Its focus is not only to preserve and educate the public on visual folk art but also to promote traditional Appalac ...

("KFAC") presented the first comprehensive exhibition of Cornett's work, "Chester Cornett: Beyond The Narrow Sky", complete with an extensive, illustrated catalogue.

References

*Jones, Michael Owen. ''Craftsman of the Cumberlands: Tradition and Creativity''. Lexington, KY: Univ. Press of Kentucky, 1989. *Swain, Adrian, ''Chester Cornett: Beyond The Narrow Sky''. Morehead, KY: Kentucky Folk Art Center, 2014.

External links

Beyond the narrow skyAmerican Folk Art MuseumKentucky Folk Art Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornett, Chester 1981 deaths 1913 births American carpenters