McIntire, Samuel

McIntire, Samuel (măk`əntīr'), 1757–1811, American architect and woodcarver, b. Salem, Mass. He developed high skill as a joiner and housewright and in wood sculpture. McIntire's opportunities, both as builder and carver, came in designing houses for the shipowning aristocracy of Salem. In the interiors of these houses are beautiful carved cornices and mantelpieces, inspired by the elegant style of Robert Adam. McIntire's Salem works include the Pierce-Nichols, the Peabody-Silsbee, the Gardner-White-Pingree, and the Elias Haskett Derby residences. His public buildings are Assembly Hall, Hamilton Hall, Washington Hall, and the courthouse, all in Salem, of which the latter two no longer stand. In 1792, McIntire competed for the design of the Capitol at Washington. Among his works in sculpture are portrait busts of Governor Winthrop and Voltaire (both: American Antiquarian Society, Worcester).

Bibliography

See study by F. Kimball (1940); Samuel McIntire, a Bicentennial Symposium (ed. by B. W. Labaree, 1957).

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McIntire, Samuel (1757–1811) carpenter, builder/architect; born in Salem, Mass. A carpenter and builder, he began his career by repairing ships. From 1780 he built Georgian and Federal style houses for Salem merchants as well as local churches and civic buildings. His designs for brick houses continued to be copied after his death. He was also a woodcarver and a designer of interiors noted for their restrained ornamental woodwork. He designed the Gardner-Pingree House (Essex Institute) (1804–05) and South Congregational Church (1805), both in Salem, Mass. In modern times his furniture has commanded some of the highest prices of any American work.