CHIPPENDALE CARVED SECRETARY New York 1750-1755 Attributed to Thomas Brookman Carving attributed to Stephen Dwight (b. 1736) Primary Wood: Mahogany Secondary Woods: Mahogany, Tulip Poplar, White Pine Height: 99 1 / 4 inches Width: 40 1 / 2 inches Depth: 22 inches
Provenance: Margaret Stuyvesant, New York, c 1750; George McCloskey, New York, 1870-1890; Mrs. William McCloskey, New York 1890-1930; Mary Clare Judge, New York, 1930-1963; John S. Walton, Inc., New York, 1963; Richard P. Mellon, Laughlintown, PA, 1963-1984; John S. Walton, Inc., Connecticut; Private Collection, New York References: This desk and bookcase appears in Luke Beckerdite and Margi Hofer, “Stephen Dwight Reconsidered” in American Furniture, 2016 , figures 19 and 20. It also appears in Beckerdite, "Origins of the Rococo Style in New York Furniture and Interior Architecture," from American Furniture, 1993,
figures 18 and 19.
The attribution to Brookman is based on the nearly identical interior construction of a chest of drawers in a private collection that is documented to Brookman through the Beekman Family papers now at The New York Historical Society. The Van Rensselaer chest at Winterthur and a desk and bookcase at Chipstone are also part of this group. For the discussion of Brookman and his construction techniques please see Beckerdite and Hofer, “Stephen Dwight Reconsidered”, American Furniture, 2016 .
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