Furniture

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Coffee/Tea Table

Artist/Creator: unknown
Holding Institution: Alice Austen House, Staten Island

This table was purchased by the Austen family in India in the late-19th or early-20th century. Octagonal and ornately carved throughout, the stylized star/flower/diamond shapes are set with inlay through the entire table. It was owned by Alice Austen and Gertrude Tate when they were occupants of of Clear Comfort, now Alice Austen House (AAH), a nationally-designated LGBTQ+ landmark in their honor.

The antique table represents one of the very few decorative objects in the AAH collection that can be directly attributed to Austen and her partner Gertrude Tate. The table was brought back during the late-19th or early-20th century from India by either Alice’s Aunt Min, Uncle Oswald, or Grandfather John Austen. Oswald was a ship captain and Min accompanied him on many of his overseas travels, as evidenced by our letter collection. John owned an auction company, securing decorative objects overseas to sell through his New York business. Photographs by Alice Austen documenting the interiors of her home, confirm that the house was decorated in true Victorian style, resplendent with objects from floor to ceiling.

The family home, Clear Comfort, also served as both studio and muse for Austen; she photographed people and gatherings in it and even photographed its contents. AAH has a number of photographs of the way the home used to look in Alice’s time to share with visitors. The display of original objects such as this table embodies the Austen family narrative. Explaining to visitors that the items on display are all that is left is also a poignant reminder of Austen and Tate losing their money, home, and possessions. The couple was forced to live apart when they were evicted in 1945; Tate’s family took her in, but would not accommodate Austen, who lived at the Farm Colony.

The table is representative of Austen and Tate’s over 50-year relationship and co-habitation at Clear Comfort and the impetus behind our designation as a NYC and national site of LGBTQ+ history. The table was situated in the Austen home during years of active entertaining, which are captured through Austen‘s early photographs. The table sat in the family waterfront home until 1945 when Austen and Tate, the last remaining residents of the home, were evicted after years of financial difficulties. Austen gave the table to her social worker, Dorothy Carter, when she was evicted from her family home and moved to the Staten Island Farm Colony (aka the poor house). Neighbor J. Sanders donated the table in 1985 answering the museum’s open call for donations.

Furniture