{"id":6951,"date":"2019-03-05T17:35:49","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T17:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.covetfoundation.com\/events\/?p=6951"},"modified":"2020-01-19T19:52:59","modified_gmt":"2020-01-19T19:52:59","slug":"craftsmanship-wonderful-pieces-american-arts-crafts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.covetfoundation.com\/events\/craftsmanship-wonderful-pieces-american-arts-crafts\/","title":{"rendered":"Craftsmanship: The Most Wonderful Pieces of American Arts and Crafts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When we think of craftsmanship<\/strong><\/em><\/u> sanctuaries, we often think of European cities and countries, filled with history and legacy<\/strong>. However, the United States of America<\/strong> are also home for some of the most talented master artisans<\/strong>, artists<\/strong>, designers<\/strong> and art galleries<\/strong> in the world.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Architect Frank Furness also produced furniture designs, like this desk, that influenced the Arts and Crafts movement in Philadelphia. Photo: \u00a9Philadelphia Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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USA was even the birth place of the \u201cAmerican Craftsman Style<\/strong>\u201d, also known as \u201cAmerican Arts and Crafts Movement<\/strong>\u201d. This was an American domestic architectural<\/strong>, interior design<\/strong>, landscape design, applied arts<\/strong>, and decorative arts<\/strong> style and lifestyle philosophy which began in the last years of the 19th century.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Library Table (1904) by Rose Valley Shops and William Lightfoot Price. Made of stained white oak. Photo: \u00a9Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This design and art movement remained popular into the 1930s. In decorative arts and architectural design<\/strong>, it continued with numerous revitalization projects until present times.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Linen Press (1904) by Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony. Made of oak, tulip poplar and brass. Photo: \u00a9Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The American Craftsman style, along with a wide diversity of related European design movements, was born from the British Arts and Crafts movement<\/strong>, which began in the 1860s. The British movement was a way of reacting against the Industrial Revolution<\/strong>\u2018s depreciation of the individual worker and resulting degradation of human labor\u2019s dignity.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Chandelier (1907-9) by Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. Made of mahogany, ebony, and leaded glass. Photo: \u00a9Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The movement highlighted handwork<\/strong> over mass production. The problem was that expensive materials<\/strong> and\u00a0 skilled labor restricted acquisition of Arts and Crafts<\/strong> pieces to the wealthy.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Armchair (1907-9) by Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. Made of honduras mahogany, ebony, fruitwood, silver, copper, and mother-of-pearl. Photo: \u00a9Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The American movement also reacted against the Victorian over-decorated aesthetic<\/strong>, since the Arts and Crafts style\u2019s American arrival coincided with the decline of the Victorian era<\/strong>. It also encouraged originality<\/strong>, simplicity<\/strong> of form, local natural materials<\/strong>, and the visibility of handicraft<\/strong>. Nevertheless, the movement was unique, particularly in the Craftsman Bungalow style<\/strong>, with its goal of decorating modest homes for the American middle class.<\/p>\n

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Craftsmanship: Box (1910-20) by Marie Zimmermann. Made of wood, ivory, patinated silver, nickel-plated brass, steel, amethyst, and semi-precious quartz. Photo: \u00a9Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n