Desk and bookcase

Desk and bookcase

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In 1753, Lieutenant Governor James De Lancey, a grandfather of Mrs. Daniel Verplanck, bought this English japanned desk and bookcase at an auction. All the items offered for sale had belonged to Sir Danvers Osborne, royal governor of the State of New York. Osborne had transported his household furnishings from England to New York City but committed suicide shortly after assuming his post as governor.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.