Secretary

between 1770 and 1785

George Bright American, 1726-1805

On View

American, Level 2, West Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

This desk is a leading example of American furniture from the rococo or Chippendale period. Made in Boston, it reflects the sophisticated features associated with the center of furniture production in colonial America. In addition to the many intricacies inside, the desk’s exterior features, such as the hairy claw feet, the rosettes with trailing leaves and flowers, and the carved and gilded moldings framing the mirrors serve as not only a testament to the designer but to the carvers as well.

Title Secretary

Artwork Date between 1770 and 1785

Artist George Bright

Life Dates 1726-1805

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Mahogany, white pine, mirrors, gilt and brass

Dimensions Overall: 102 1/2 × 42 1/2 × 24 inches (260.4 × 108 × 61 cm)

Classification Furniture

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Gibbs-Williams Fund, and funds from Louis Hamburger

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 66.131

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Alsop family (Middleton, Connecticut, USA)

19th century, George Wyllys (former Secretary of State of Connecticut) family (Connecticut, USA)

(Israel Sack, Inc.)

1966-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Connecticut Tercentenary Loan Exhibition, Three Centuries of Connecticut Furniture. Exh. cat., the Morgan Memorial. Hartford, CT, 1935, no. 218. (Lent by Joseph W. Alsop)

American Decorative Arts from the Pilgrims to the Revolution. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1967, no. 50, p. 30 (ill.).

DIA Handbook, 1971, p. 130.

“Family Art Game,” DIA Advertising Supplement, Detroit News, April 29, 1984, 26 (ill.).

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 182–183 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

attributed to George Bright, Secretary, between 1770 and 1785, mahogany, white pine, mirrors, gilt and brass. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, General Membership Fund, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, et al., 66.131.