Duncan Phyfe

(b Loch Fannich, nr Inverness, 1768; d New York, 16 Aug 1854).

American cabinetmaker of Scottish birth. He moved to America with his family about 1784 and settled in Albany, NY, where he served his apprenticeship. About 1792 he moved to New York and opened his own shop; his business prospered, and he moved to a new location on Partition Street. As his reputation spread, the most fashionable people in the city, including John Jacob Astor, William Bayard and De Witt Clinton, sought his services. His shop grew to be one of the largest in the city, and he shipped furniture to customers in New Jersey, Philadelphia and the south, particularly Charleston, SC.

Phyfe was an important disseminator of the new English Adam and Regency styles, and his name is synonymous with these neat Neo-classical styles as they developed in New York in the early 19th century. His best furniture is characterized by the use of dark Santo Domingo mahogany, reeding and carved water leaves, lyres, paw feet, swags, tassels, bowknots and cornucopia. In 1808 Phyfe made some of the earliest furniture in America with Empire details for Louisa Throop, including a French-style fall-front secretary with lion's paw feet (priv. col., see McClelland, pl. 284). The chairs have carved paw feet, sabre legs based on Grecian sources, lyre-shaped backs and scrolled crest rails (priv. col., see McClelland, pl. 287). In 1837 his two sons, Michael Phyfe (d 1840) and James Phyfe (b 1797), joined him in the business. In that year he made a parlour suite for Samuel Foot in the heavier Empire style, which he later called 'butcher furniture' (New York, Met.). He retired in 1847, having amassed substantial property and a large fortune. His prolific shop and prominent clientele earned him a well-deserved reputation as one of the most influential American cabinetmakers in the early 19th century. Some pieces of furniture made by Phyfe can be seen in the Phyfe Room at the H. F. du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE. (Source: OSCAR P. FITZGERALD, "Duncan Phyfe," The Grove Dictionary of Art Online (Oxford University Press) Accessed March 29, 2004) http://www.groveart.com