Architectural elements from a Retiring Room in the North Family Dwelling American, New Lebanon, New York

United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)

ca. 1830–40 · Wood · The American Wing

The Shakers were a socially progressive Protestant sect that believed in racial and sexual equality, pacifism, and common property. By the mid-nineteenth century, the Shakers had established eighteen communes, from Maine to Kentucky, for nearly 6,000 members. This room has been installed with architectural elements from the North Family Dwelling at "Mount Lebanon" in upstate New York as well as Shaker-made furniture and textiles. The North Family Dwelling was a five-story building designated for one of Mount Lebanon’s eight work-and-faith units, or "families," which contained kitchens, dining rooms, a large chapel and meeting room, and retiring rooms. This room served as both a bedroom and, as proscribed by the Shakers’ Millennial Laws, a place to retire to "in silence, for the space of half an hour, and labor for a sense of the gospel, before attending meeting." Originally, the room would have had several beds for the women who shared it. As in many Shaker interiors, a pegboard runs around the room to suspend objects from the floor for more efficient storage and daily cleaning routines. The built-in cupboards, pegboards, austere furnishings, and stained woodwork reveal three of the most typical characteristics of Shaker design: utility, simplicity, and beauty.

Artist

United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing (“Shakers”)

Date

ca. 1830–40

Medium

Wood

Culture

American, Shaker

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Emily Crane Chadbourne Bequest, 1972