Date: Fri 31-Jul-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: LAURAB

Quick Words:

MOMA-Art-Of-Connoisseurship

Full Text:

American Furniture And The Art Of Connoisseurship/Lead for 7/31

(W/Cuts)

NEW YORK CITY -- Think you know American furniture inside out? Think again.

Through September 13, a brainteaser of an exhibition at the Metropolitan

Museum of Art is testing visitors' talents for evaluating American decorative

arts. The playful display was organized by American decorative arts curator

Morrison H. Heckscher.

Nearly 35 armchairs, side chairs, tea tables, chests, bookcases, tall case

clocks, lighthouse clocks, fragments, and supporting materials are included in

"American Furniture and The Art of Connoisseurship." Objects on view range in

date from the late Seventeenth Century to the early Nineteenth Century; in

origin, from New England to Pennsylvania; in material, from oak to mahogany;

and in execution, from carved to painted wood.

The examples -- good, bad, and indifferent -- illustrate four elements of

connoisseurship: attribution, authenticity, condition, and quality.

Understanding how these variables combine to affect value requires

sophistication.

What is it? Where was it made? Who made it? Is it really what it purports to

be? How has it changed since it was originally made? How good an example of

its kind is it? These are the questions that dealers and collectors routinely

ask themselves.

Sometimes, collectors must weigh authenticity against quality. Three

Eighteenth Century Philadelphia tea tables illustrate that, however original,

not every piece of furniture made in Colonial America was beautiful or well

made. Most likely created by the same hand, the tables show the artisan's

progression from promising beginner to skilled expert.

The subtleties of finish are pointed up by a set of Chippendale chairs made

for Samuel Verplanck of New York. Divided among Verplanck's heirs, the chairs

have been reunited to provide a lesson on the effects of refinishing.

Reproductions are another area of concern. Duncan Phyfe, the best known of New

York Federal cabinetmakers, exerted considerable influence long after his

death. Craftsmen such as Ernest F. Hagen copied both Phyfe's style and his

construction techniques. A circa 1890-1900 armchair bearing the partial label

of Ernest F. Hagen differs in at least one crucial respect: Hagen spliced the

rear legs, something Phyfe almost never did.

Carving is an element to be judged independently of form and surface

condition. Before the American Revolution, London-trained carvers came to

Philadelphia to supply the local elite with the latest London fashions, that,

for political reasons, could not be imported. The embellishment on two drawers

taken from a Philadelphia high chest and matching dressing table prove how

widely the quality of carving can vary.

"Improvements" ultimately diminish the value of an antique, as two Newport,

R.I., tall case clocks demonstrate. One, dating to 1750, is by James Wady.

Though refinished, the clock is structurally intact and unaltered. The other,

by Wady's father-in-law, William Claggett, was "enhanced" with fluted quarter

columns and cut-down to fit a room with a low ceiling. These revisions

resulted in the loss of its once beautiful surface.

Most of the pieces are drawn from the museum's American furniture collection,

begun in 1910. Inadvertently, "American Furniture and The Art of

Connoisseurship" chronicles changing tastes and attitudes toward restoration,

as well. As Heckscher notes, the "leave it alone" school has begun to overtake

the "refinish it" school.

Not everyone will agree with the Met's conclusions, but that, says Heckscher,

is the point. Instead of dictating his choices, the curator encourages

visitors to decide for themselves.

Ultimately, not every question can be resolved through simple inspection.

Connoisseurship today is as much a science as it is an art, relying on

sophisticated diagnostic tools beyond the scope of this display.

On view in the Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art, "American

Furniture and The Art of Connoisseurship" was designed by Michael Langley.

Graphic design is by Sue Koch; lighting, by Zack Zanoli. The show is open to

the public on Fridays and Saturdays, 9:30 am to 9 pm; Sundays, and Tuesdays

through Thursdays, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. The gallery is closed Mondays.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is at 1000 Fifth Avenue, telephone

212/570-3951.