Ww Xd aay ya abbas WES 2D 2D DF RS HU DDE II" DP gi CHARLES OVER CORNE Ds, My : Wry VEHwBan(F RPT : a ——o ieee fa is —s opt FURNITURE MASTERPIECES OF DUNCAN PHYFE ; Fo s . * ‘ oie a ‘ . = Sess passa Warehouse, Salesrooms, and Workshop of Duncan Phyfe, at Nos. 168-170-172 Fulton Street, formerly Partition Street FURNITURE MASTERPIECES OF DUNCAN PHYFE BY CHARLES OVER CORNELIUS ASSISTANT CURATOR DEPARTMENT OF DECORATIVE ARTS METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART MEASURED DETAIL DRAWINGS BY STANLEY J. ROWLAND METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART PUBLISHED FOR THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BY DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY GARDEN CITY NEW YORK 1925 ah z ah Shy, %i en fa ie : ‘ yt ae | eic4 \ 3 5 Chae , * . ran i d ‘ By 1 : *. ‘ : wf ‘ ‘ . y é . i] > , ’ * a . e . 7 4 7 , ‘ ’ ue * ' r t ‘ 3 COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY Dish DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY ory, Ney. AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN ott es COTE, ESS Ava Sa aa ig fh ai in iv, is Nec PaE eaes yi :"> ra { oe , : , : f ert a \ ay ¢ 4 & - ” we Ves Ti { % Vix ‘: u “i . cnr 4 r : a al + bs is . #9 we 4 a eat, cv ey > ‘ * , : eile. 1 at Qe Sas Py ee os wea eae cd Ja ] , eee 4 ps \ ee i! ih , } aay | ‘ FOREWORD Duncan PuyFs is the only early American cabinet-maker to whom a very large group of furniture may be attributed on documentary grounds. Much of the attribution to other American cabinet-makers is based upon purely circum- stantial evidence, but in the case of Phyfe there exist docu- mented examples of practically every type that is shown herewith. The aim, therefore, has been to present at least all the general known types of furniture from Phyfe’s best period and as many variations of these types as space would permit. It has also been attempted to place this art-craft of the Early Federal Period in the United States against the back- ground of the time, thus to relate the utilitarian art to the influences—artistic, social, and economic—which controlled to a large degree the forms which it took. The book has been a result of the assembling of material for an exhibition of the work of Duncan Phyfe at the Metro- politan Museum of Art in New York. In the search for Phyfe furniture there appeared a larger group of more varied material than had ever been supposed to exist. It was deemed, therefore, advisable to put into permanent form this record of Phyfe’s handiwork as it is known to-day, with no pretense to an exhaustive treatise. It may be affirmed that the book includes most of what is known about Phyfe and his work up to date, but the many sur- prising finds during the search for material to exhibit would Vv vi FOREWORD lead any expert to speak with some hesitation in saying that all types or all variations of types of Phyfe furniture are included between these covers. At least those that are shown will form a valuable basis for future attribution. The author’s cordial thanks are due to those whose pos- sessions are illustrated in the book. It is only their courtesy which has made possible its compilation. To these the author’s appreciation is expressed: Mr. and Mrs. Warren B. Ashmead, Dr. and Mrs. Lewellys F. Barker, Mr. and Mrs. Harry H. Benkard, Mr. and Mrs. Allan B. A. Bradley, Mr. Henry de Forest Baldwin, Mr. Elihu Chauncey, The Colonial Dames of the State of New York, Mr. F. Kingsbury Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, Mr. and Mrs. Francis P. Garvan, Mr. and Mrs. R. T. H. Halsey, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Johnston, Mr. and Mrs. V. Everit Macy, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Mansfield, Miss Jane Elizabeth Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Guerineau Meyers, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wilmerding Payne, Mr. I. N. Phelps Stokes, The New York Historical Society, The New York Public Library. CONTENTS | PAGE SS a ee ee a ee + CHAPTER I. Tue Enp or KNICKERBOCKER NEw YORK . 1 Il. DUNCAN PHYFE AND THE ARTISTIC INFLUENCES Mrmr Mee ty. fete «| 80 II. Tue Distinctive Quatiry or DuncAN PoyFe | 48 IV. THe FurNitTuRE: CHAIRS AND BENCHES . . 62 See eGterURNITURE:; SOFAS . . . . . . . 67 Meee eee PURNITURE: TABLES . . . . ... % VII. Tur Furniture: MIsceELLANEOUS PIEcES . 79 RCT OSTONG 6 6h.) cen val lac ee at we 82 vil LIST OF HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS Warehouse, Salesrooms, and Workshop of Duncan Phyfe Frontispiece PLATE iri! I. Side chairs showing Sheraton influence. 6 II. Side chairs showing Sheraton influence. 6 III. Armchair, mate to side chair, Plate II . 6 IV. Side chair with oak-leaf panel, Sheraton and ~ Directoire influences 7 V. Slat-back chairs 14 VI. Lyre-back chairs . Mr rae et 14 VII. Armchair of Directoire type, curly a ee panels a Ae aS, 14 VIII. Side chairs showing mee influence . naa IX. Armchair showing Empire influence. Part of suite with sofa, Plate X VII 22 X. Window bench, without carving 22 XI. Window bench with carved leaf panels ne acanthus legs 22 XII. Sofa, Sheraton influence . 23 XIII. Sofa, Sheraton influence . 26 XIV. Sofa, Sheraton influence . Q7 XV. Sofa, Directoire influence wilt 30 XVI. Sofa, Directoire and Empire influences. 30 ix x HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXITI. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVIT. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXII. XXXIT. XXXITT. XXXIV. XXXYV. XXXVI. XXXVITI. XXXVITI. XXXIX. XL. FACING PAGE Sofa showing Directoire and Empire in- fluences eee ae ; : aoe Settee, Empire legs Ae ered oanelet Shas | Card table, Sheraton influence. The corner blocks are carved with the Prince of Wales feathers . .. i Card table, Sheraton rece ne Game table, Sheraton influence. . . . 88 Pembroke table, Sheraton influence . . 38 Drop-leaf extension dining-table . . . 38 Sewing stand, Sheraton influence . . . 389 Sewing stand. The silk bag is missing . 42 Sewing stand. The silk bag is missing . 43 Console table, urn pedestal. . . . . 46 Tip-top candlestand . . eee Drop-leaf table, urn pedestal . . . . 46 Sewing and writing stand .. .. , 47 Dining-table . . . eae Card table without ae ee ee Sewing and writing stand . .. . . 654 Drop-leaf table. << . .. Card table, urn pedestal . . . . . 54 Card table with fluted drum... . 55 Side table, four-post pedestal . . . . 58 Drop-leaf table, four-post pedestal . . 59 Dining-table, end view (below), side view (above)/ i.) -. tae . Drop-leaf table, end and side views . . 62 HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE XLI. XLII. XLII. XLIV. XLV. XLVI. XLVI. XLVITI. XLIX. . Serving table . . Cheval glass Extension dining-table Sofa table with end supports Library table . Sofa table . Card table, crossed lyre pedestal Card table, crossed lyre pedestal Sideboard with veneered, reeded decorations Serving table . Buffet . . Piano case and trestle . High-post bedstead . Four types of bed-posts . . Trestle for a piano . Washstand carved, and FACING PAGE LIST OF LINE DRAWINGS FACING PAGE A. Details of sofa arms and legs, carved panels from sofas and from chair-backs. . . . . 48 B. Typical lyres and chair slats with a panel froin the base of a dining-table . |... ee C. Four bed-posts . .. 52 D. Table legs and supports aa a res ene a table base io ae ies: re EK. A piano trestle aud various Este of ‘aie posts and urn-shaped supports . . . . .. . 3S8 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES OF DUNCAN PHYFE OS ESS SiS A- I THE END OF KNICKERBOCKER NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKER NrEw York is gone! In the tall canyons of lower Manhattan, few are the landmarks which recall to us the little city whose more fashionable citizens drove on bright spring afternoons to the pleasant country suburb of Greenwich Village, doubtless relieved, good horsemen as they were, that the hard paving of Broadway stopped at City Hall! The residences of people of fashion were then found on the Battery, while of the highest respectability were lower Broadway, upper Pearl and Nassau streets, Broad and Wall. Beyond the City Hall the softly rolling landscape was ribboned with shady roads, flanked here and there either by charming suburban homes to which the city families retreated during the summer heat, or by tidy farms whose owners were blissfully ignorant of eventual realty values. Surely a provincial city but, none the less, develop- ing more rapidly than it knew into a cosmopolitan one! It was not until the very last years of its existence’ that the consciousness of a Knickerbocker New York was formu- lated into anything definite. The Dutch traditions which 1 2 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES had remained so important an element in the eighteenth- century town had hung about the city without occasioning any self-conscious attention or comment. It remained for a brilliant little group of young writers to utilize these tradi- tions in their literary efforts and thus to preside in a two- fold capacity both as registrars of an epoch which was dying and as heralds of a new era which was just begun. The first twenty-five years of the nineteenth century were marked in New York by an amazing activity which extended into all departments of human endeavour. There was a rapid acceleration of commercial growth which called forth a corresponding development of mechanical invention. A social consciousness was evolving from the compact society of a provincial city into the beginning of a cosmopolitan at- titude toward local affairs. Civic improvements of sur- prising farsightedness were begun, and politics, both local and national, were hotly debated. The artistic expression of these contemporary interests kept equal pace. The artists who created and the patrons who supported the artistic achievements of the day were all in close touch with the life of the city in its various phases. The result of this expansion of interests and activities was the rapid outgrowing of the Knickerbocker town both literally and figuratively. The very consciousness of the Knickerbocker tradition, for the first time definitely ex- pressed, was in one way a romantic creation to which was lent the glamour of remoteness, and to which point was given by the survival up to date of many traits and customs of the early Dutch inhabitants. It was at the beginning of this interesting and important OF DUNCAN PHYFE 3 period that Duncan Phyfe came to live and ply his craft in New York. His early struggles to find a foothold coincided with the early years of the century, while the continually increasing recognition of his sincere craftsmanship and con- summate artistry kept pace with the changes in the city’s life and thought. His best work was done during this first quarter of the century and constitutes an important record of the cultural outlook of the people of the day. A brief glance, therefore, at the New York of the time, the New York which saw the accomplishment of Phyfe’s finest work, will give a necessary background against which to judge this utilitarian art which served its purpose of contributing largely to the creation of worthy standards of taste in the public of the time. By ten o’clock on the morning of the last day of the year 1799 a sombre throng of citizens had assembled in Broadway near the triangular park which this thoroughfare formed with Chatham and Chambers streets. A muted key was set by the frequent signs of mourning visible throughout the orderly crowd and was emphasized by the contrast with the colours of the drooping flags, the brilliant hues of uniforms, military and naval, and the shining insignia of the foreign diplomats and their suites, the philanthropic societies, the Masonic lodges, and the Society of the Cincinnati. In or- dered ranks the cortége formed, each group falling into its appointed place—citizens, foreigners of various nations, representatives of the army, navy, and militia, of the civil government, paternal and philanthropic societies, mercantile 4 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES groups, musical associations and clergy. Near the end came the great catafalque surmounted by the urn, glittering with burnished gold, draped in black, and flanked by eight pall- bearers. Thus with pomp and ceremony was the funeral of the great Washington commemorated by his fellow citi- zens of the country which he more than any one man had helped to found, and of the city which for a short time was its capital. The bier, followed by the General’s horse caparisoned in black, and led by two negro grooms, passed down the east side of the Common to the head of Beekman Street, thence through Beekman and Pearl streets up Wall Street to the Federal Hall. It was here on the 30th of April, 1789, that Washington had taken the oath of office as first President of the United States, and in recognition of this fact a short pause was made before the building. Following Broad and Beaver streets, it passed around the Bowling Green in front of the Government House, which had been built in the ex- pectation that New York would be the capital of the repub- lic. Through the double rows of the marchers the symbolic urn was carried up Broadway and into St. Paul’s Chapel, where it was placed before the altar. Solemn memorial services were held, a funeral oration was delivered by Gou- verneur Morris, and musical eulogies were chanted. The people dispersed to their homes, perhaps to discuss the great works of the first President of the new republic, perhaps to speculate upon the future of that republic in the new century which was just beginning. The death of Washington, practically coinciding as it did with the opening of the new century, marked the end of one OF DUNCAN PHYFE 5 period in the country’s history and the beginning of a new. The trying years of war, the more trying years of the con- solidation of independence won, were over. The Govern- ment of the United States of America was organized and founded upon a constitution. The time had come for the new country to try its mettle in competition with the great world without, no longer as a colonial possession, but as an independent nation conscious of its strength, the extent of which could be gauged only by its exercise. The route followed by the marchers in the Memorial Parade may well be taken as a summary outline of the city as it was at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Carry- ing out in the main the lines of growth suggested by the old Dutch town, the lower end of Manhattan was divided by streets which followed generally the shore lines of the East and Hudson rivers and were intersected at irregular intervals by cross streets running from river to river. The present location of the City Hall, which was not yet begun, marked a northern limit to any real city development. There, on the “Common,” stood the Bridewell, the City Alms House, and the Prison. Most of the country north of this point retained a purely rural aspect. Within easy reach was the Collect Pond around which youths and maid- ens sauntered on Sunday afternoons in summer or upon whose frozen surface they skated in winter. It was here in 796 or ’97 that John Fitch had made his crude experiments in steam navigation. Other uptown resorts for pleasure were the Old Vauxhall at the corner of Warren and Green- wich streets, a house built by Sir Peter Warren and a public garden patterned after its famous London original, while 6 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES various road houses along the East River offered in their menus tempting specialties to the summer boating expedi- tions and winter sleighing parties which came their way. In so small a town as this New York there was no exclusively residential section, but in all the streets the residence and the shop, the church, the tavern, and the market elbowed each other without giving or taking offence. The finest houses now being built of brick with slate roofs were on the Battery. and in its immediate neighbourhood, lower Broadway and its intersecting side streets. Broadway was the Bond Street of New York and contained many fashionable and elegant shops. Already at this time New York had begun to feel itself the leading city of the eastern seaboard. Its location immediately rendered it the most important port for Euro- pean import as well as the most central point for domestic export. Founded originally as a trading post—not as a haven for religious or political freedom—it was but natural that the commercial aspect of the city should always have assumed a preponderant place and that the marts of trade should have stood cheek by jowl with the church and the dwelling. English though the city had been since the end of the seventeenth century, the Dutch tradition had been tena- cious, particularly in the outlying country districts in New Jersey, up the Hudson, and on Long Island. In these dis- tricts the changes in tradition, in customs and usage, had come slowly, while in the city itself a much more rapid de- velopment had occurred due to the increasing number of im- migrants from beyond the borders of the Low Countries. England preponderantly, of course, Ireland, Italy, and AONAQATANI NOLVYAHS ONIMOHS SUIVHO ACIS “I ALVId AONAOTANI NOLVUAHS DNIMOHS SHIVHO ACIS ‘Il ALVId PLATE III. | : F, Bes i ED 2 u 2 i i i = ty ges F . ARMCHAIR, MATE TO SIDE CHAIR PLATE II | PLATE IV. SIDE CHAIR WITH OAK-LEAF PANEL SHERATON AND DIRECTOIRE INFLUENCES OF DUNCAN PHYFE 7 France had all contributed to the growingly cosmopolitan population of the town. The French Revolution, with the resulting disorganization, led to a particularly large influx of cultivated Frenchmen. In numbers perhaps not greater than those of other nationalities which were coming at the same time, the conditions in France were such that the émigrés came almost wholly from the educated classes, members of the lesser nobility, and of the professional and artistic groups. It is not surprising, in view of this fact, that the influence of France and the civilization for which it stood—intensified by the memory of that country’s aid to America in her dark hour—should have had a marked in- fluence upon the city, particularly in its social and artistic life. The city’s social history of the period is marked by a gradual change during twenty-five years from an English to a French flavour in which was mingled the faintest memory of the earlier Dutch characteristics. Thus the original vigour of the city was reinforced by fresh infusions from abroad, in the repeated additions to its popu- lation of residents whose very presence in the new land ar- gued their possession of sturdy bodies, active minds, and not a little imagination. All of this vigorous growth in popula- tion was paralleled by commercial prosperity, a proportion- ate increase in public and private wealth, a constantly widening horizon of political and cultural interests—in short, the beginnings of a cosmopolitan and somewhat self-con- scious attitude toward the city itself and the world beyond its walls. Lengthy and detailed accounts of European affairs, predominantly the activities of Napoleon, fill large portions of the contemporary newspapers, as do the notices 8 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES of arrival from and departures for Europe of those luxuries of fashionable life which each continent could offer to the other. ; As though timed to guide the thought and influence the actions of the youthful city, so recently out of leading strings, there arose a constellation of literary stars whose effort was both to give to the city a background of recorded legendary or actual history and to mould its contemporary life by the exercise of gentle social satire. The brightest star of all was Washington Irving who, as a child of six, had with his nurse joined the crowd which gathered before Federal Hall when the oath of office was administered to the first Presi- dent. Irving’s studies for the bar had been interrupted by an illness which necessitated a voyage to Europe, whence he returned in February, 1806. He found the city at a pleasant moment in its growth with an organized and mellow society which afforded both a subject and an audience for the kindly wit and humour of his satire. Al- though admitted to the bar, his greater satisfaction lay in his literary activities, among the first results of which were the Salmagundi papers. Based upon the suggestions of Addison’s Spectator, these essays were humorous satires upon the social foibles of the day and were written and pub- lished in conjunction with his brother, William, and James K. Paulding. His next effort, ““A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker,” was heralded by an advertising campaign of thoroughly twentieth-century char- acter. In this history he not only satirized the pedantry of local antiquarians, but from the characteristics of the solid OF DUNCAN PHYFE 9 Dutch burgher created a distinct literary type which later from time to time he developed in the charming stories of Knickerbocker legendary lore which have given to parts of the Hudson valley a permanent place in the literary geogra- phy of the world. During a second lengthy sojourn abroad, Irving produced a number of exquisitely written stories and sketches upon English and continental themes which won for him his place among his European peers. Thus we see him not only as the creator of the first national literature based upon American incident but also as an author of international repute in the English reading world. These youthful spirits, of whom Irving was the leader, contributed their share to the social life and literary ac- tivities of the town. Known as the Knickerbocker group, these young men divided their time between the city and a_ charming bachelor’s hall, an old country home on the Pas- saic not far from Newark, celebrated in the Salmagundi papers as “Cockloft Hall.” Of this lively group Mr. Hamil- ton Wright Mabie has drawn a vividly sympathetic picture in his little book, “‘ The Writers of Knickerbocker New York.”’ During Irving’s protracted sojourn abroad, the other members of this group of his friends and contemporaries were busy making names for themselves. James Kirke Paulding, best known as a political writer and anti-British patriot, wrote not only political treatises and satires but, as well, poems, novels, and parodies. He raised his protest against English dominance in political as well as in literary and artistic affairs. At the same time the two friends, Fitz- Green Halleck and Joseph Rodman Drake, were carrying on 10 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES the impulse given by Irving and Paulding to social and poli- tical satire. Endowed, as Mr. Mabie says, with talent, though not with genius, these four “conspired against the dullness of the town and made it smile at its own follies.”’ In 1822 James Fenimore Cooper came to the metropolis, heralded by his reputation as the author of “The Pioneers” and “The Pilot.” He was followed in 1825 by William Cullen Bryant, whose reputation as a poet was firmly based upon “Thanatopsis” and “Lines to a Waterfowl.” Still attached to his career as a lawyer, 1t was some time before Bryant made his permanent connections as an editor. Dur- ing the years 1821-1822, Richard Henry Dana Ist. edited in New York the short-lived magazine, The Idle Man. With his Bostonian background and his New York affiliations, he was a most important link between the literary groups of the two cities. With the coming of these men and others toward the close of the first quarter of the century, the beginnings of a dif- ferent school of writing were heralded. They are less a part of the last days of Knickerbocker New York than they are of nineteenth-century America, and they form a connecting link between a time which seems to us remote and a present which was, but just now, with us. The artistic and intellectual interests of the town were nourished not only upon literary food. As a pendant to the group of writers, an equally vigorous company of artists and architects was working with a knowledge and sureness of touch which, while reflecting the changing tastes of the present, argued no lack of appreciation of the great tradi- tions of the past. Here, too, we find men of versatile minds OF DUNCAN PHYFE 11 and training excelling not alone in one thing but in several, taking their places as active and conscientious citizens in the affairs of the city and the nation. In February, 1801, there was opened in rooms in the Government House near the Battery an exhibition of paint- ings presented to the city by Napoleon Buonaparte, First Consul of the French through Robert Livingston, the Ambassador of the United States at Paris. To Chan- cellor Livingston, also, was due the establishment of the Academy of Arts which was formed by subscription in February, 1802, and reorganized in 1817 with Trumbull as president. As the Academy thrived, there were added to the collection “‘antique statues, busts, bas-reliefs, and books,” among the last, twenty-four volumes of Piranesi, presented by Napoleon. Most of the “antique statues”’ were, to be sure, casts bearing such awe-inspiring names as Belvidere Apollo, the Venus of the Capitol, and the Laocoén. Of the ““moderns’’ are mentioned busts of Washington, Hamilton, Clinton, West, and three of Napoleon. Another popular resort for the artistically curious was John Vanderlyn’s “Panoramic Rotunda.” Here, on Cham- bers Street east of the City Hall, the well-known artist held an exhibition in a hall built for the purpose in 1818. The motley group of panoramic scenes included the Palace and Gardens of Versailles painted by Vanderlyn; the City of Paris by Barker; the City of Mexico, the Battle of Waterloo, and the City of Athens. A smaller connecting gallery was used by Mr. Vanderlyn to show his own paintings including his Caius Marius which had received a second prize at Paris. Not far from the Rotunda on Broadway near the south 12 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES angle of the park was Mr. Paff’s antiquity shop. He had no competitor in the fine arts of buying, selling, or repairing pictures. In the Architectural Rooms of Ithiel Towne and M. E. Thompson, in the Exchange, was assembled an ex- tensive collection of books and prints relative to this noble art. Of the painters whose names may fairly be associated with this period which we are reviewing, two are known to us chiefly by their artistic works, two by their scientific ac- complishments. John Vanderlyn and John Trumbull, historical, landscape, and portrait painters, ranked high as artists who painted in the taste and spirit of their time. Vanderlyn, a real Knickerbocker, born in Kingston-on-the-Hudson, studied, like the other painters of his generation, first in this country, then abroad. He was, in fact, the first American painter to study in France, rather than in England. His chief rival in New York, and by no means a friendly rival at that, was John Trumbull. Trumbull, by the accident of birth, began his life with the advantages of good family and thorough education. His father was the Revolutionary Governor of Connecticut and Harvard was his college. In 1804 he came to New York with his English wife and set up his establishment in a house at the corner of Pine Street and Broadway. A good deal of an opportunist, he had made other visits to New York, us- ually, as now, in the effort to further his own success. His return found him well known as an historical and portrait painter, the pupil of Benjamin West, a soldier and a diplomat. He remained in America until 1808—the years from 1794 OF DUNCAN PHYFE 13 until 1806 had been prosperous but the embarrassments of commerce between 1806 and 1814 hit heavily the wealthy commercial clientéle of the painter. Again in 1816 he re- turned—the War of 1812 had come and gone while he was in the enemy’s country—and his first effort was to revive the Academy of Arts of which he was elected president. From this time he was chiefly occupied in painting historical scenes for the Washington Capitol, then rebuilding. His relation to the Government was as nearly as possible that of a “‘court”’ painter. His work is a characteristic note upon the period, for it breathes the picturesque glory of battle, it depicts the Important occasions in the foundation of the Government, and portrays the leading figures who took part in these events. Robert Fulton and Samuel F. B. Morse are best known to us by their scientific contributions—Fulton for his suc- cessful forwarding of the use of steam in navigation, Morse as the inventor of the telegraph. But both of these men began life as painters and have left a number of examples of their work which bespeak their skill in an art which later was crowded out of their lives by scientific investigation. Morse in 1824 was living in New York and was commis- sioned by the Corporation of the city to paint the portrait of the venerable Lafayette, who was then beginning his tri- umphant tour through the United States. Two years later he was instrumental in founding the National Academy of Design, of which he was the first president. ‘This step brought about his ears the vituperations of the leaders in the Academy of Arts. For some years after this his painting and lecturing were continued before his inventions began to 14 FURNITURE MASTERPIECES occupy all his energies. A charming fictional treatment of Morse’s life is the delicate pen picture drawn in F. Hopkin- son Smith’s “The Fortunes of Oliver Horn.” Fulton, born in 1765, had practically given up portrait painting by 1794, according to Dunlap. His training had been similar to that of Trumbull and Morse. He had received instruction and encouragement from West in Lon- don, and had travelled on the Continent. It was during his residence in England, while he studied and painted, that he first became seriously interested in canal navigation and later, when an intimacy grew up between him and Chan- cellor Livingston in Paris, his dreams of the accomplishment of steam navigation had begun to come true. Henry Inman, born in 1801, was one of the younger group of painters whose earlier work falls within our period. Ap- prenticed to John W. Jarvis at the age of fourteen, he was one of the organizers and the first vice-president of the Na- tional Academy of Design. Listed as a portraitist, he ex- celled both in miniature and oil painting, while in the latter medium his work included not only figure and portrait work, but genre and landscape as well. Inman’s teacher and patron, Jarvis, was an eccentric soul who painted much and well both as a miniaturist and as a painter in oils. He not only worked in New York—with whose art, however, he is particularly associated—but travelled to Philadelphia, Balti- more, Charleston, and New Orleans to execute commissions for portraits. Charles B.-J.-F. de Saint Mémin worked in New York from 1793 to 1798, returned in 1810 for a short time and again in 1812. Ss ou Se y Ss AA i