During the years of the War of Independence, little progress was made in the arts, but an antipathy developed for all things connected with Britain. The early Republic looked to the democratic philosophies of Greece and Rome and turned to the same sources in search of a new aesthetic inspiration. There had already been a strong Classic tendency in Europe, partly due to the discovery of Pompeii and the use of Classic motifs by the Adam Brothers.

Classic research was given additional impetus through sympathy with the Greeks in their War of Independence, and the Greek revival or Greek Temple style of architecture was reflected in interior work as well as in exteriors. The Greek style predominated for fully two decades and buildings for all purposes were constructed with ornamental pediment of Greek motifs. This occurred at the time of the settlement of the Middle West, so homes, churches and public buildings were built in this style adjoining the early settlers’ huts in these localities.

In interior architecture, that which showed the greatest charm after the Revolution was the work inspired by the Adam Brothers. Great delicacy of detail in the moldings and ornament was carried out by a group of workmen, many of them recent arrivals from apprenticeship with the best cabinet makers of England. Samuel Mclntire of Salem, Massachusetts, and Charles Bullfinch are pre-eminent as architects at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the latter a strong protagonist of the Adam style.

Academic forms applied to wood were seen in cornices, mantels, wainscots, wall paneling, door and window trim, hardwood corner block molding, and other architectural features. These same motifs were applied to furniture, which was ornamented by carvings and sculpture of distinctly classic origin. The American eagle as a symbol of the new Republic also became popular as a decorative motif and for a time gave its name to the “American Eagle Style” in the early years of the nineteenth century.

In combination with the woodwork, the use of wall-paper became prominent. The earliest papers had been imported into France and England from China and were colored by hand. The convenience and attractiveness of this method of decoration caused its immediate popularity in Europe and the vogue was soon transmitted to these shores.

The European artists at first copied the Chinese designs by hand. They soon found that they could not compete with the low labor cost of manufacture in the Orient and invented a method of printing the paper by designs cut from wood corner blocks, enabling them to produce quantity at low cost.

Western motifs were soon used in addition to the Oriental patterns. Flock papers were invented to imitate the Italian cut-velvets. Flower patterns and pastoral scenes were produced in both monotone and colored effects. The majority of the Chinese papers had pictorial patterns and this method of decoration was immediately adopted by the Western designers who reproduced local scenes.

The scarcity of framed pictures also added to the popularity and development of wallpapers. The European manufacturers designed patterns that would readily sell in the fast growing American market by appealing to the sentiment and patriotism of the young country.

Wallpapers were not made in America until well toward the middle of the eighteenth century.

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