Philadelphia-born Wharton Esherick trained as a painter but by the mid-1920s had shifted his focus to carving wood furniture and sculpture. When commissioned in 1935 to renovate the first floor of Curtis and Nellie Lee Bok’s home in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, Esherick created a masterpiece of stylistically inventive architectural elements and furniture.

A judge, Curtis Bok had enjoyed bipartisan support when elected, which Esherick whimsically references with the donkey and elephant finials on the steps.