Duncan Phyfe

Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854), American furniture designer, whose neoclassical manner helped define the Federal style in the U.S. Of Scottish origin, he settled in New York City in 1790 and opened a successful furniture shop that at times employed more than 100 craftsmen. His chairs, tables, sofas, and sideboards show the influence of English neoclassical and Regency styles and of French Directoire and Empire styles. The elegant proportions, slender lines, and graceful neoclassical motifs of Phyfe's furniture were ideal complements to American houses in the chaste Federal style. His best work is in mahogany and features such carved decorations as swags, leaves, plumes, and—his most characteristic motif—the delicate lyre shape that appears in chair backs, sofa arm supports, and table bases. His later furniture (after 1820), usually in rosewood, is more massive and highly ornamented and is usually considered inferior to his early work (see Furniture).