Sunday, March 25, 2012

Duncan Phyfe (or Equivalent) at Darlington House

When furnishing the principal rooms at Darlington House we have aimed to do so in a manner appropriate to their early-nineteenth-century architecture, a style that is today known as Federal or neoclassical.  We have sought out works from the period's leading cabinetmakers based in New York City and Albany, New York, the cities where the original occupants of the house would have shopped when furnishing their stylish and sophisticated rooms in New York's Hudson River Valley.

A photograph of a serving table in our collection
acquired from Bernard & S. Dean Levy in New York City
Image courtesy of same

Although we have examples of furniture that bear the labels of several well-known cabinetmakers of the period, we also have pieces of furniture that—while unlabeled—were sold to us by dealers of the highest reputations as being "from the workshop of Duncan Phyfe or an equally competent workshop."  As many readers of this blog well know, Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was one of this country's most elite cabinetmakers of the first half of the nineteenth century, rivaled at the time in New York only by Charles-Honoré Lannuier (1779-1819) and the brothers Michael Allison (1773-1855) and Richard Allison (1780-1825).

A similar serving table attributed to Duncan Phyfe in
Furniture Masterpieces of Duncan Phyfe
by Charles Over Cornelius, 1922

Phyfe's large workshop produced a prodigious output of superlative work that was scattered far and wide in the young nation.  Although Phyfe produced furniture well into the 1840s, he is rightly and best known for the earlier furniture his workshop crafted in a highly restrained, neoclassical style.  It is in those first two decades of the nineteenth century that we concentrate our collecting at Darlington House.

The handsome catalog from
the Metropolitan Museum's current exhibition
"Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York"
Photograph by Boy Fenwick

Only a small fraction of Phyfe's workshop's output was labeled, much to the bedevilment of collectors, dealers, and curators seeking verified attribution of his output.  The current landmark exhibition of Duncan Phyfe's work at The Metropolitan Museum in New York contains examples of furniture that are labeled Duncan Phyfe, documented as having been produced by Duncan Phyfe, and attributed to his workshop.

A mahogany tilt-top stand in our collection
at Darlington House
acquired from Thomas Schwenke, Inc., of
Woodbury, Connecticut
Photograph by Boy Fenwick

Reggie understands that there is a lot of furniture in the market attributed to Duncan Phyfe that has no basis for being so, but he also knows that there is furniture out there where a credible case can be made for such an attribution.  Although he would like to believe that the pieces in his collection that are possibly attributed to Duncan Phyfe were produced in the master cabinetmaker's workshop, he recognizes that some or all of the pieces he owns may well not have been made by Phyfe.

Shop and Warehouse of Duncan Phyfe
168-172 Fulton Street, New York City,
unidentified artist, circa 1817-1820
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image courtesy of same

What is clear in examining each such piece in Reggie's collection, though, is that if it was not made in Duncan Phyfe's workshop it was made by a cabinetmaker of equivalent or nearly equivalent expertise who was closely following—if not outright copying—forms produced by Phyfe.

A pedestal-end mahogany sideboard, circa 1810,
in the collection of Boscobel Restoration, Inc.,
Garrison-on-Hudson, New York
Image courtesy of same

One of the first pieces of furniture we bought for Darlington House is a mahogany sideboard, circa 1810, that is nearly identical to one in the collection at Boscobel Restoration.  That collection was assembled for the house in the late 1970s by Berry Tracy, who was then Curator-in-Charge of American Decorative Arts in the American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Title page of the 1810 price book, once owned
by Duncan Phyfe, in the collection of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York, New York
Image courtesy of same

A photograph of an unattributed but similar sideboard is featured in the catalog for the Met's exhibition.  The same form of sideboard appeared on the cover of the June 1810 Revised Pricebook for Manufacturing Cabinet and Chair Work that is on display in the show and that once belonged Duncan Phyfe.  Also, a 1930 photograph of a nearly identical sideboard (current whereabouts unknown), documented as having been supplied by Duncan Phyfe to a Mr. William Bayard, is in the Met's catalogue.

The William Bayard Duncan Phyfe sideboard, 1807,
published in The Antiquarian, March 1930
Image courtesy of The Mteropolitan Museum of Art

Although our sideboard does not bear Duncan Phyfe's label, it—along with the others shown here—is an example of what reputable dealers can credibly be expected to attribute to the workshop of Duncan Phyfe or an equally competent workshop, such as that of Michael Allison, whose workshop produced labeled examples of the sideboard, one of which is in the collection of the New York State Museum, at Albany.

Cover label on the catalogue of the exhibition
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Yale University Press, 2011
Photograph by Boy Fenwick

For those of my readers who appreciate the cabinetwork of Duncan Phyfe, I highly recommend a visit to the current show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it will run through May 6th.  It then travels to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for its final stop, where it will run from June 20th through September 11th.

24 comments:

  1. Reggie,

    As a card carrying member of the Met I've had the delight of visiting the Phyfe exhibit three times to date. I agree with you in regards to your pieces being by Phyfe or an equally competent workshop. The difference between Phyfe-quality and the standard mediocrity of the day is obvious to the studied eye. You and boy have some lovely pieces to enjoy. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Hello Jonathan, Thank you for your comment. I have enjoyed looking at your website and wares, which are handsome indeed. I hope to visit the DP show one or more additional times, and am impressed that you've already seen it three times. RD

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  2. And all I can think now is, "Can you imagine MOVING that stuff?" You do have, as Jonathan says, such a wonderful eye.

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    1. Thank you. There is so much "stuff" at Darlington House, the prospect of moving which is sufficiently daunting, that I cannot imagine exiting the house voluntarily, except feet first on a gurney. In other words, I hope it is someone else's problem to address, rather than mine!

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  3. Hello Reggie:
    Whether your furniture is directly attributable to Phyfe or not, it looks to us to be of excellent quality. The materials used by and craftsmanship employed by a workshop of standing will always shine out from the rest.

    You have a marvellous collection which we are sure look beautifully 'at home' in Darlington House.

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  4. The American Wing, as you may know, was the inspiration of Emily Johnston and her husband, Robert Weeks de Forest. When Emily was a little girl, she would play in her grandmother's house around the corner on Washington Square North. She was particularly attracted to the attics, which were packed to the rooftop with "old" furniture that had been put away for storage -- the thirty-year-old Duncan Phyfe tables, chairs, beds, and sideboards that had been purchased by her grandfather when he built the house three decades before. All this was now sadly out of fashion, thanks to the inexplicable mania for "Fine French Furniture" that swept New York in the 1850s and 1860s. In a way, these crowded attics were the origin of her interest in furniture and art, and led eventually to the creation of the American Wing.

    (BTW, many years later, when she and her husband took over her grandmother's house, the old Phyfe furniture was brought down from the attics and the French furniture was either passed along to her children or sent up to the attics. Some number of pieces of both types are in the Met's collection.)

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    1. Dearest Ancient, I have not been heretofore aware of Mr. and Mrs. de Forest (although I believe a prep school classmate of mine may have been related). Thank you for the interesting story, indeed. I wonder, who is buying FFF today? Is it only oligarchs and dictators? RD

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  5. I particularly admire your mahogany server. It is very handsome with its rectilinear form and elegant reeding. Albert Sack in Fine Points of Furniture attributes a related 'experimental' server to Phyfe, but your example has better proportions, and the rounded corners incorporating the legs add much interest.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. I know the server in Mr. Sack's book well, as I am a student of his scholarly work. Thank you!

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  6. These are handsome pieces, regardless as to being made by the Phyfe workshop or not. You have a great collection that I am sure is a very attractive highlight of any visit to Darlington House.

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    1. Thank you -- coming from you that is praise, indeed!

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  7. What a beautiful collection. I am particularly smitten with your tilt-top table, as I have seen so many lesser ones lately. I think it is lovely that you and Boy have been able to do both the house and the furnishings justice by bringing them together.

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    1. Thank you, tripod tables can be tricky, I found, when I was in the market for such things. We have a pair in our drawing room (one featured in my post) with the same funny little round feet as shown. I originally thought they were a later addition!

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  8. Everything has a story. I love antiques and the history told from your angle.
    pve

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  9. Dear Mr. Darling,

    I can see that Boscobel has played a greater part in the decoration of Darlington House beyond the age-appropriate furniture you feature in today's post.

    Your beautiful serving table and sideboard are such practical pieces (all those drawers and cupboards are very handy when it comes to squirreling away all the accoutrements of a well stocked dining room).

    Are the top drawer ring handles original to your serving table, or are they a later addition (I can't tell from the small photograph, but they appear very close to the key holes)? Either way, they are beautiful.

    American Federal and English Regency era furnishings and decorative arts are my favorite styles above all others. They have an elegant severity about them. Thank you for sharing your beautiful furniture with us. I'm so sad to be missing the Phyfe exhibit. Obviously, I live on the wrong coast.

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    1. Ah, Miss LizaE, you are eagle-eyed, indeed! We have debated the originality of the top drawers' lion pulls since acquiring the server. The dealer, Dean Levy, believes them to be later, from the mid 20th century, as do we, as they somewhat obscure the obviously original key holes. I suspect that originally there were only pulls on the large lower drawer, and that the top two drawers were originally pull-less, relying instead on using the key to pull open the drawer. Someone decided that the piece needed a bit of tarting up after the fact, and hence we have the current, albeit somewhat clumsy, configuration. RD

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    2. Ah, Reggie, the eagle-eyed business can be both a blessing and a hinderance. Anyone who knows me well is all too familiar with my obsession for detail, which is a big reason why I appreciate your wonderful blog, style and aesthetic.

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  10. You have a handsome serving table, indeed. I especially like the pulls that appear to be in the form of lion heads. As I look at both serving tables, I think the raised lip on the back of that low shelf is an elegant detail that puts yours over the top. Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you, I am rather fond of the server's details. It is actually one of two that we have in our dining room, with the other being slightly smaller and less refined, and not of the quality where an attribution to DP's workshop is justified, at least with a straightface!

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  11. Reggie,
    I loved seeing pictures of your beautiful pieces, I would gladly pay admission to see them in person!
    xo,
    ~R

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    1. Acanthus,m'dear, should you find yourself in the HRValley I would gladly provide you with a tour of Darlington House gratis!

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  12. In addition to each lovely piece, love the image of the shop and warehouse. Marvelous and thanks!

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  13. What great taste you have! I very much admired the photo of the tilt-top table, also for the painted wood floor and the handsome lock on the door. You haven't missed a thing in your thoughtful restoration.

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  14. You might enjoy keeping abreast of the past in this way:

    http://19thcenturyupstatenewyorkinteriors.blogspot.com/

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Please do comment! I welcome and encourage them, and enjoy the dialogue.

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