Duncan Phyfe
Duncan Phyfe (1768-August 16, 1854)[1] was one of nineteenth-century America’s leading furniture makers.
Born Duncan Fife near Loch Fannich, Scotland, he emigrated to Albany, New York, at age 16 and served as a cabinetmaker’s apprentice.[1] In 1792, he changed the spelling of his surname, moved to New York City,[1] and opened his own business in 1794, which eventually employed more than 100 workers. He became known as one of America's leading cabinetmakers by selling furniture at relatively low prices. Although Phyfe’s work encompassed a broad range of the period’s classical styles--Empire, Sheraton, Regency, Federal and French Classical among them--he is most famous for his simple style, a reaction to the imported French designs popular at the time.
Duncan Phyfe's furniture can be seen in the White House Green Room, Edgewater, Roper House and Millford Plantation owned by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, museums, etc.
Karl Shapiro refers to the fly's leg as "the fine leg of a Duncan-Phyfe," in his poem "The Fly."
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- 1768 births
- 1854 deaths
- 18th-century Scottish people
- 19th-century Scottish people
- 18th-century American people
- 19th-century American people
- People from Ross and Cromarty
- Scottish emigrants to the United States
- American businesspeople
- American cabinetmakers
- American furniture designers
- Furniture makers
- Scottish businesspeople
- Scottish furniture designers
- Scottish people stubs
- American people stubs
- Furniture stubs
