Lockwood de Forest’s showroom at 9 East 17th Street, c. 1885Lockwood de Forest’s showroom at 9 East 17th Street, c. 1885
New York, New York
Photograph by Lockwood de Forest
Courtesy of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, NA1501.D31I3
Example of Indian domestic architecture, c. 1885Example of Indian domestic architecture, c. 1885
Lahore, Punjab
Photograph by Lockwood de Forest
Courtesy of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, NA1501.D31I3
Lockwood de Forest, a landscape painter and designer with an early interest in India and the Middle East, introduced Indian aesthetics to the United States in the late nineteenth century. During his honeymoon in India, de Forest met Muggeunbhai Hutheesing. Together, they opened the Ahmedabad Woodcarving Company, which produced Indian architectural elements, furniture, and jewelry. De Forest decorated both his showroom and personal home in New York City with intricate teak designs inspired by his travels.