Figure 7 Side chair, Baltimore, Maryland, 1810–1820. Maple and cherry. H. 34", W. 20 1/2", D. 24 1/4". (Collection of Mrs. George M. Kaufman; photo, Gavin Ashworth.) Recent pigment analysis indicates that this suite of chairs is painted with chrome yellow. In 1814 Robert Gilmor wrote that chromate of iron was found in the Bare Hills area seven miles north of Baltimore on the Falls turnpike: “Perhaps in no part of the world has so much been discovered at one place: it furnishes the means of preparing the beautiful paint called the chromic yellow, with which carriages and furniture are now painted in Baltimore.” Gilmor’s observation that the pigment was used on carriages and furniture suggests that the Finlays—who worked in both trades—may have been using chrome yellow as early as 1813. Considering the abundant local supply, the use of this pigment may have reflected local pride. See Robert Gilmor, Jr., “A Descriptive catalogue of Minerals occurring in the vicinity of Baltimore,” American Mineralogial Journal 1, no. 4 (1814): 231–32. In 1818 Gilmor presented examples of granular and octahedral chromate of iron from the Bare Hills to the British Museum. He noted that the octahedral examples were the first “that had ever been seen in Europe” (Henry Ellis, British Museum, to Robert Gilmor, Jr., January 10, 1818, private collection).
