American Empire Style

American Empire is a French inspired Neoclassical style of American furniture and decoration that takes its name from the Empire style introduced during the First French Empire under Napoleon, gaining its greatest popularity in the United States after 1820 as the second and more robust phase of Neoclassicism, following the earlier Adam style in Britain and Louis Seize in France. As an early nineteenth century design movement it encompassed architecture, furniture, and other decorative and visual arts, and in furniture it was most notably exemplified by New York cabinetmakers Duncan Phyfe and the Paris trained Charles-Honore Lannuier, with other regional centers in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The most elaborate work in the style was made around 1815 to 1825, often incorporating columns with rope twist carving, animal paw feet, and antiquities inspired ornamentation, and the style is represented architecturally by rooms such as the Red Room at the White House. A simplified version known as the Grecian style continued the tradition with plainer curved forms and figured mahogany veneers, and elements of the style saw a brief revival in the 1890s.