Cassatt House Furnished with Stiefel Family Heirlooms

In the corner of the front room is a Renaissance Revival acanthus-carved, figured walnut desk and mahogany armchair, American, ca. 1870, owned by the donor’s father, Israel Stiefel (1898-1966).  The desk and chair had been used by him in his office as Chairman of the Caucus of Democratic Senators during his tenure as a Pennsylvania State Senator (1936-1964).  In addition to his Senate career, Israel Stiefel was a scholar of the bible and Semitic languages and a widely acclaimed philanthropist.  He also taught political science at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.

The centerpiece of the front room is a walnut and satinwood double-pedestal, three-leaved dining table with a matching sideboard, made by Zonin of New York, c. 1958. These were part of a suite of furniture made for the donor’s mother, Beverly Ruth Stiefel Orleans (1910-1986), and her second husband, Alfred P. Orleans (1888-1981), for use in their dining room.  Alfred Orleans was a noted real-estate developer and both he and Beverly Stiefel Orleans were active philanthropists, she as president of her Hadassah chapter and he as, among other works, founder of the non-profit Orleans Vocational Center.