Cylinder Desk and Bookcase
1815–20
Medium
Mahogany, mahogany veneer, satinwood, gilded gesso with yellow poplar, white pine
Dimensions
95 3/8 x 48 1/8 x 24 in. (242.3 x 122.2 x 61 cm)
Classification
Desk and bookcase
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, in memory of Berry B. Tracy, 1985
Accession Number
1985.236a, b
About the Artist
Duncan Phyfe · 1770–1854
Duncan Phyfe (1770–1854) was a Scottish-born American cabinetmaker who became the most celebrated furniture maker in the history of American decorative arts. Born Duncan Fife near Loch Fannich in the Scottish Highlands, he emigrated with his family to Albany, New York, around 1783–84, where he apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. By 1792 he had established his own workshop on Partition Street (later Ful...