I received a note back from Stacy Pomeroy Draper, Curator of the Rensselaer County Historical Society which has some Galusha pieces in their collection. Thanks to Gordie for the thought to contact her.
I asked her to weigh in on the attributed "Galusha" sofa above being sold by Jenack Auctions. To be clear, they didn't hold this out as a confirmed Galusha, only suggesting that it may be a possibility.
From Stacy:
Dear John,
In response to your question, I agree with the assessment on the website. This piece of furniture is not in character with the other Galusha pieces in our collection or that I have seen elsewhere. He used C-scrolls, but much differently and generally concave and as an element in the floral carvings he is best known for. The combination of fruit and flowers is also not something I associate with Galusha's work. The sofa does have more of a Belteresque look, but the lack of lamination is an issue with that attribution. As one of the comments on your site notes, there were many, now anonymous, makers out there who might have produced such a high-style piece but whose names have been lost. Even Galusha very rarely marked or labeled his pieces and that makes attribution to him even more difficult. I would hope that if there was any documentation for the Galusha attribution on this piece that it would have been noted.
You may use the comments above if you feel they are helpful.
Sincerely,
Stacy Pomeroy Draper, Curator
Rensselaer County Historical Society
57 Second Street
Troy, NY 12180
You can view the
original post and comments, one by woodwright suggesting this sofa is like the one on the TV Show, "The Big Valley", which starred Lee Majors and Linda Evans. Apparently the show had a fair amount of Victorian furniture.
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