Timothy S. Philbrick

Timothy Philbrick often takes inspiration from furniture created by the Townsends and Goddards, Newport's legendary master craftsmen of the 18th century. In this table, two drawers form a deeply curved front rail that recalls one of John Goddard's most distinctive table designs. At the same time, the graceful shape of the legs recalls French Art Deco furniture of the 1920s.

The mastery of such different sources of inspiration and the ability to combine them in an original design has earned Philbrick a national reputation as one of the leading furniture craftsmen of his generation. Within RISD's collection, which spans approximately three hundred years of American furniture, few pieces bridge the centuries so effectively or express so well the presence of the past in contemporary furniture design.