J. Michael Flanigan

Folk Art, Furniture and Decorative Arts

Updated: 7.17.09

J. Michael Flanigan has been in the antiques business for 28 years. All of that time has been spent working on and dealing in classic American furniture. After college Flanigan spent eight years working at the bench repairing, restoring, and conserving antique furniture. Seven of those years were spent at the firm of J.W. Berry & Son, a firm that had been in business since the late 19th century and did the conservation work for almost every museum, historical society, and historic home in a 50-mile radius of Baltimore, as well as numerous private collectors. This experience gave him a chance to learn about furniture from the inside out, and afforded the chance to learn not just the intricacies of design and construction but also the tricks and techniques fakers use to deceive collectors and curators.

Flanigan spent the next three years as the administrator of the Kaufman Americana Foundation. There he oversaw the exhibition of, and wrote the catalog for, American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. — the only time the Gallery has ever exhibited a private collection of American decorative arts.

Since the close of the exhibit Flanigan has been a private dealer in Baltimore. He exhibits at antique shows such as the Philadelphia Antiques Show, and continues to write articles on antiques and lecture to groups throughout the country. Flanigan is a member of the American Institute of Conservation and various museum support groups.