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Jonas Chickering: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Industrialist\Manufacturer\Piano
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.95.177
Exhibition Label
Born Mason Village, New Hampshire
“The father of American piano making,” Jonas Chickering revolutionized piano construction by developing a one-piece, cast-iron frame. The result was an instrument that could withstand the tension exerted by its strings and resist extremes of temperature and humidity that made it difficult to remain in tune. Chickering’s patented innovations also yielded pianos of greater volume and superior resonance. Honored at the Crystal Palace exhibition in London in 1851, they became the instruments of choice in concert halls throughout the United States. When he posed for this portrait by Boston’s premier daguerreian artists, Chickering was at the zenith of his career.
Nacido en Mason Village, New Hampshire
Jonas Chickering, “el padre de los fabricantes de piano en Estados Unidos”, revolucionó este sector al desarrollar un bastidor de una sola pieza en hierro fundido. El instrumento resultante podía soportar mejor la tensión ejercida por las cuerdas y los extremos de temperatura y humedad que afectaban su afinación. Las innovaciones patentadas por Chickering también mejoraron los aspectos de volumen y resonancia. Estos pianos fueron destacados en la exposición del Crystal Palace de Londres en 1851 y se convirtieron en los preferidos de las salas de concierto de Estados Unidos. Cuando posó para este retrato en el estudio de los más distinguidos daguerrotipistas de Boston, Chickering estaba en la cumbre de su carrera.
