NEW YORK – The first settlers to the New World brought what furniture they had with them but as American towns and commerce grew, furniture began to be made here in the late 1600s. The earliest examples likely were highly influenced by Dutch or British styles, but the American aesthetic was developing.

Over the last 200-plus years, American furniture has developed about a dozen distinct styles as consumer tastes changed. Early American furniture was fairly utilitarian and focused on simple forms created for a specific purpose, but American cabinetmakers began making increasingly sophisticated pieces, including high-style pieces for wealthy clients. Whole books have been written on the history of American furniture. so the following guide is a broad-strokes primer of sorts on some of the most popular American antique furniture styles.

William and Mary (1690–1730)

This style of furniture is bulky and strong, having low horizontal profiles and typically made of oak. To combat its overly rectilinear appearance, pieces would be decorated with low-relief carving, paint and applied moldings or turnings to add interest.

As an example, this circa 1750 Pennsylvania William and Mary spice chest, has a somewhat staid and boxy form. Decoration creates visual interest however with a herringbone border on the center of its door in the shape of a circle within a larger herringbone border framing the door’s outline.

Queen Anne (1730-1760)

Queen Anne furniture, noted for its restrained decoration and curvilinear forms, was among the first styles to use the cabriole leg that defined 18th century furniture. The S-shaped legs on everything from chairs to case pieces were shaped in a convex curve atop a concave curve. Curving chair crests and arms as well as decorative seashell carvings were emblematic of the Queen Anne style.

Windsor chairs

While a British invention, the ubiquitous Windsor chair is worthy of mention here as it became quite popular on this side of the pond. Philadelphia was the center of Windsor chair production in America as early as the 1740s. These chairs are instantly recognizable by their backs with multiple thin spindles, reclining form and splayed straight legs.

Federal (1790 to early 1820s)

The Federal period encompassing Hepplewhite, Sheraton and Chippendale furniture is all about straight lines and geometry. Legs are mostly straight instead of curved and pieces are distinguished by contrasting veneers and elegant geometric inlay designs. This period of furniture saw great changes in form and style. High chest of drawers fell out of favor and new styles appeared such as the sideboard. Satinwood or mahogany were frequently used as the primary wood for the base, though bird’s-eye and ripple-grain maple are hallmarks of pieces made in New England in this era. Finials, such as on secretaries or bookcases, used common motifs of eagles, draped urns, or an urn and a flame.

This two-piece Chippendale desk and upper bookcase, dated 1796, made entirely of walnut serves as proof that highly sophisticated furniture was being made in America this early. Capt. John Cowan, one of the first settlers in Kentucky, commissioned this piece that stayed in his family for 200 years, as a show of his status and success.

Pennsylvania Dutch (1720 to 1830)

Paint-decorated Pennsylvania furniture is one of the most iconic forms of folk art. Characterized by its straight lines, plain turnings and tapered legs, the use of vibrant paint made these pieces sizzle. Regional forms popularized here saw the introduction of hanging cupboards and wall racks, usually painted with scrolling decoration or common motifs like hearts, tulips and fruit.

Shaker (1780-1860)

Known for their devout religious beliefs, Shakers were guided by three central beliefs: honesty, simplicity and utility, which were evinced in the furniture they made for use in their self-sufficient communities as well as selling to the outside world. Boasting muted colors and clean lines, Shaker furniture is elegant in its simplicity. Simple dovetailed joints and a lack of fussy ornamentation are its hallmarks. A notable form is the Shaker ladder-back chair having horizontal posts on the back that look like ladder rungs.

Classical Empire (1820-1840)

Inspired by the French Restoration period, Classical Empire furniture was made in America by such renowned makers as Duncan Phyfe and Joseph Meeks & Sons, who ran competing firms in New York City. Their furniture tended to scale on the large side and case pieces were distinguished by S- and C-scroll pillars. Meeks Classical Empire sofas typically had scrolled arms and used flame mahogany in the frames.

Revival periods

The second half of the 19th century saw a flurry of Revival styles, including Rococo Revival, Egyptian Revival and Renaissance Revival as furniture began to be mass-produced in the 1860s. Taking design cues from Renaissance architecture, earlier Classical and Romantic styles, or Egyptian architecture, pieces from this era were known for detailed carving, elegant details, applied medallions, ebonized wood or ormolu gilding.

20th century and beyond

Arguably the greatest evolution in American furniture design has been in the last 150 years as tastes changed from the highly ornate Victorian and Art Nouveau furniture styles to the streamlined Art Deco look by the 1930s. Rebelling against the Industrial Revolution, furniture makers such as Gustav Stickley focused on simplicity, creating what came to be known as the Mission style.

The Midcentury Modern era in the 1950s was a time of rebirth after World War II and this furniture aesthetic was unlike anything that came before. Midcentury designers/makers such as Ray and Charles Eames, Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen, Paul Evans, Paul McCobb and Wendell Castle created comfortable and functional furniture that were works of art in themselves.

NEW YORK – Of all the American woodworkers and furniture designers of the 20th century, perhaps none were at once as celebrated and humble as Sam Maloof (1916-2009), the son of Lebanese immigrants who was born in California and lived and worked there his entire life. The accolades were many: in 1985 he was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” grant, the New York Times called him “a central figure in the postwar American crafts movement,” the Smithsonian Institution declared him to be “America’s most renowned contemporary craftsman” and People magazine dubbed Maloof “The Hemingway of Hardwood.” His furniture resides in the collections of many American museums.

But if anyone attempted to call Sam Maloof an artist, he would quickly correct them. “I am a woodworker,” he would say with typical humility. “I like the word. It’s an honest word.” Maloof worked with wood starting as a child, making a spatula for his mother, plus dollhouse furniture, cars and other toys. In 1948, he and his wife, Alfreda, moved into a house in Ontario, California, where he set up a furniture workshop in the garage. Having little money, he designed and built a suite of furniture for the home, mostly made of salvaged materials and discarded packing crates.

Word spread of his creations and commissions began pouring in. A friend, Henry Dreyfuss (the noted industrial designer of such classics as the Singer sewing machine and the Hoover vacuum cleaner) commissioned Maloof to make 25 pieces for his Pasadena home. The rocking chair he designed for Dreyfuss was an instant hit and was soon found in the chicest homes – including the White House. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan had rockers made by Maloof in the Oval Office. Carter signed a photograph to Maloof, “to my woodworking hero,” in a visit to Maloof’s home.

Maloof’s style was to put function over form, usefulness before artistry. His modern furniture was assembled entirely out of wood (he preferred claro walnut, cherry, oak, rosewood and yew) using no nails or metal hardware at all. These were a perfect fit for the minimalist homes of the postwar period. “He was trying to make other people appreciate what it was like to live with a handcrafted object in which there was a kind of union between maker, object and owner,” according to Jeremy Adamson, author of the 2001 book The Furniture of Sam Maloof.

Maloof’s chairs, for which he is most famous, have a sculptural quality about them, yet are also very ergonomic and austere in their simplicity. They can be characterized by completely rounded over corners at mortise and tenon joints (which are always plainly visible); carved ridges and spines, particularly on the arm rests; decorative ebony dowels; deep, dished-out seats (always made from several boards glued together); and clear finishes. Everything he made – chairs, cradles, hutches and other furniture pieces – were designed and crafted entirely by hand.

“Sam Maloof’s work is timeless; it is subtly modern and surprisingly sophisticated,” said David Rago, a partner and co-director of 20th /21st Century Design Development at Rago Arts & Auction in Lambertville, N.J. “While his famous rocking chair has a lyrical expression of line, the magic of Maloof’s designs can be found in the details – the expertly formed joints, the finishing of the edges, the graining and beauty of the planks, and his use of proportion.”

Together, these details reveal a mastery of material and form, Rago said, resulting in works that are simple but refined and work in any interior. “I should add that he chose the discipline of a rocking chair as his cornerstone form,” he pointed out. “They are deceptively difficult to make, and yet part of the furniture vernacular for centuries. At one, a rocking chair is basic and functional, but brought to the level of high art by Maloof’s genius as a craftsman and designer.”

“A few years ago, we had a Sam Maloof bench here in the showroom,” said Wade Terwilliger, president and marketing director of Modern Auctions in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I recall the woodworker we use – who’s normally pretty reserved – sharing with me at length his awe of Maloof’s craftsmanship. I’m sure some of the humility in Sam’s self-described title of simply “woodworker” is related to his background as the hardworking son of immigrants, but I think there may be more to it than that. The title directs your attention to what he considered most significant – the working of wood.”

Terwilliger said Maloof’s pieces are shaped and finished to draw attention to the inherent beauty of the grain. “Wood is both the medium and the subject of a functional sculpture, without disguise or ornamentation,” he explained. “For example, the ebony dowels Maloof often used to join pieces together remain visible, providing color contrast, but are fully smoothed over and integrated into the chair’s form. It’s clear that great effort and attention to detail went into creating something so seemingly simple.”

“Furniture by Sam Maloof continues to resonate with collectors of all kinds as it is sculptural, visually pleasing, timeless and easy to use,” said Jason Stein, director of Modern Decorative Art + Design at Bonhams in Los Angeles. “I once heard him described as ‘a craftsperson’s craftsman.’ The woods he worked with were incredible and his pieces were known to be technically precise and beautifully finished.”

“The market for Sam Maloof designs has been consistent for the past decade,” David Rago said. “It’s strong, but not quite ‘hot.’ Given the relatively small number of works produced, his prices are very fair, generally ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. An interesting comparison is the market for the work of George Nakashima, for which there are over 5,000 auction results with a top price of $800,000. There are only 370 auction results for Sam Maloof and only one lot – a complete dining set – has achieved a price over $100,000, and that was more than a decade ago.”

It’s hard not see the relative value in the beautifully crafted works of Sam Maloof, Rago said. “That said, the rarity of Maloof’s work counter-intuitively serves to keep prices down because there has never been sufficient availability to generate a broad market. Phil Powell, the New Hope furniture designer, perhaps made a thousand pieces in his lifetime. Though working at the same time as George Nakashima and Paul Evans, in the same town, George and Paul are said to have produced between 35,000 and 40,000 pieces.  The relative paucity of Powell’s surviving work mirrors the market’s response to Maloof.”

Wade Terwilliger said the market for Sam Maloof furniture has held remarkably steady. “His famed rockers hold most of the top spots, and the curviest forms in fiddleback maple and rosewood are the most desirable,” he said. “Beautiful craftsmanship tends to hold value, and I believe the catalog raisonné, well-documented provenance and an active studio lend themselves to a healthy market because there is little question of authenticity.”

Jason Stein said the current market demand for works by Maloof is strong and consistent – “especially for his prized sculptural rocking chairs, cribs and hutches. I see this demand continuing and many collectors have Maloof on their wish lists.” Bonhams holds the world record for Sam Maloof furniture at auction – set in Los Angeles in 2006 for a carved walnut conference table and ten armchairs ($194,250). It also holds the record for a Sam Maloof rocking chair, with an example making $80,500 in 2012. Pieces by Maloof continue to do well at auction.

Maloof’s former residence in Alta Loma, which he purchased as a simple bungalow in 1953, was, over time, transformed by Maloof into a timbered, 22-room house with a hand-carved spiral staircase and door latches shaped like miniature golf clubs. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and now serves as the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts. Tours of the historic home are given on Thursdays and Saturdays.

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