Eliphalet Chapin (1741–1807) was a

cabinetmaker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

and furniture maker in

East Windsor, Connecticut East Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 11,190 at the 2020 census. The town has five villages: Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Windsorville. History In 1633, Settlers laid cl ...

in the late 18th century. His style of furniture design is regarded as one of the most elegant of its time. Chapin was born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

; his family were

woodworker Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

s, and he too entered the trade. In his early 20s, he was named in a paternity suit by Hannah Bartlett. Although he denied the suit, he settled with Bartlett by deeding a tract of land over to her. Probably as a result, in 1767 he moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, a colonial center of fine furniture construction, to further study his craft. In the 18th century, Philadelphia was one of the most important cities both before and after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and was a center of style and culture. At age 30, he returned to Connecticut, building a home and workshop in East Windsor where he spent the rest of his life, operating his furniture making shop from 1771 through 1798. In contrast to the general style of his contemporary Connecticut furniture makers, which was tall and slim, with long slim legs, Chapin had a style which was more compact, blocky, and chunky, but lighter and cleaner in detail than the Philadelphia

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

design from which he also drew inspiration, resulting in a style known as Connecticut Chippendale. The detail work on his furniture was also consistent and distinctive, with similar very highly detailed carvings on the ball and claw feet of his furniture, similar distinctive spiral rosettes, open

fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly use ...

, scrolled

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s, and other decorations. This makes his pieces identifiable, even though he did not sign them or apply a maker's mark. The quality of construction extended even to invisible parts of the furniture; interiors and undersides of drawers were finished just as meticulously as the exteriors, pieces of wood were dovetailed together almost seamlessly, and no pegs or nails are showing in the finished work. Eliphalet's second cousin or nephew Aaron Chapin also worked in Eliphalet's shop between 1774 and 1783. In the 1930s, a debate raged through the furniture scholar community over whether Aaron or Eliphalet was the real mastermind behind the style; the reluctance of either to sign their pieces (no signed piece by Eliphalet and only a few by Aaron have ever been found) has led to over a century of arguing about which Chapin was the actual builder behind any specific piece. It is currently believed, however, that Eliphalet was indeed the driving force, and his work is the more highly prized (and conversely, the more highly prized works are assumed to be by him). East Windsor marriage records show that Eliphalet was married to Mary Darling on November 25, 1773, and to "Anne Read of Canterbury" on June 18, 1778; and that Aaron married Mary King on September 15, 1777. He died in

References

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Chippendale armchair by Eliphalet Chapin, 1780-1790
in the collection of the

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...

Neoclassical side chair by Aaron Chapin, 1791
in the collection of the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Eliphalet American cabinetmakers American furniture designers People from East Windsor, Connecticut 1741 births 1807 deaths People of colonial Connecticut