The Met: Duncan Phyfe

I visited New York this week for the official reveal of the chest I designed for the Grange Colorful Exceptions Contest and to attend a lovely cocktail party for the national finalists at the Grange showroom. (Please consider voting or bidding on my chest as 75% of the proceeds go to the San Francisco Raphael House, an amazing shelter for families in crisis. Go to http://www.grangeny.com).

I had a few hours to kill, so I went to see the reopened galleries dedicated to the Islamic Arts at the Met and managed to also view the Duncan Phyfe exhibition.

Duncan Phyfe was an influential master cabinetmaker in New York between 1770 and 1847. A poor Scottish immigrant (by the name of Fife) when he arrived, he acquired wealth and fame through hard work and artistic talent. He made Neoclassical furniture for the wealthy elite of New York, Philadelphia, and the South. Over a hundred of his pieces (some never seen before) are on display and represent his attention to perfect proportion, balance, symmetry, and restraint that became the style of the day.

I was mesmerized by the video of a furniture maker today detailing the methods of carving, turning, gilding, and veneering involved in the custom furniture that came out of Mr. Phyfe's workroom. I was also particularly fascinated with the cabinetmaker's personal tool chest - a beautiful box filled with hundreds of chisels, hammers, and other carving tools perfectly arranged. It was suggested that he left it open in the window of his studio as an effective marketing technique. Because his furniture was seldom signed, yet widely copied, it was with some difficulty that the Met managed to codify and track down this collection using original bills of sale.