Paint and ornament on Federal period vernacular chairs.

During the Federal period painted or colored surfaces were critical to the appeal and salability of vernacular seating furniture, principally the windsor chair and the fancy chair. Emphasis on the eighteenth-century windsor chair centered on its sculptural qualities, whereas the frame of the nineteenth-century windsor and fancy chair emphasized flat surfaces to receive painted or stenciled ornament.

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With the introduction of the windsor chair in England in the early eighteenth century, its principal function was for use as seating in gardens and on the grounds of country estates. An advertisement by John Brown of London in April 1730 offered "Windsor Garden Chairs ... painted green or [unpainted] in the Wood." (1) Green was a perfect color for outdoor seating because it receded into the landscape without intruding on architectural and ornamental features on the grounds.

Several Philadelphia households had English windsor chairs during the 1730s, including that of the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, Patrick Gordon, who arrived from London in 1726. American production began in Philadelphia during the mid-1740s and closely imitated English prototypes until about 1810. Following English precedent, green remained the only color until after the American Revolution, although most American householders used their windsors indoors. The term green chair became synonymous with "Windsor chair." (2) Both Stephen Girard (1750-1831) of Philadelphia and Aaron Lopez (1731-1782) of Newport, Rhode Island, purchased green chairs from local craftsmen as a commodity for their flourishing export trades. (3)