The frame carved with ribbon-twist and acanthus, the seat rail decorated with a band of anthemia over fluted tapered legs, underside stamped 'IM' twice and with partial printed paper label
39 in. (99 cm.) high, 33¹⁄₂ in. (85.1 cm.) wide, 21 in. (53.4 cm.) deep

Mrs. Ronald (Marietta Peabody) Tree; Christie's, London, 29 June 1972, lot 23 (as a pair).
Acquired from Jeremy, Ltd., London, 30 June 1987.

Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

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Lot Essay

This distinctive chair exhibits all the hallmarks of French construction and taste, but features a uniquely English chair rail. The fine anthemia carving along the base of the seat is a distinctly English feature, which suggests either the influence of a carver from across the Channel, or an endeavor to market the piece to an English audience.

Mrs. Ronald (Marietta Peabody) Tree (1917-1991) was descended from the New England Peabodys, an old and pious family. Mrs. Tree’s grandfather founded Groton school, the American answer to Eton, and her brother Endicott Howard Peabody served for a time as the governor of Massachusetts. Herself a dedicated public servant, Mrs. Tree represented the U.S. in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, appointed under the John F. Kennedy administration and continued to work with the UN on human rights issues for many years.

After the end of her first marriage to lawyer and politician Desmond FitzGerald (1910-1967) in 1947, Marietta married Anglo-American MP Ronald Tree (1897-1976). For a brief time the couple lived in Tree’s Oxforshire home, Ditchley Park. However, they soon constructed their own Palladian estate in Barbados called Heron Bay, filling it with many items from Ditchley, which they soon-thereafter sold. The Trees also maintained a townhouse in Manhattan, further outfitted with furniture and art from Ditchley Park, and which was known by close friends as ‘Little Ditchley’.