The Decorative Arts Trust - Fostering appreciation for the decorative arts

Virtual Dialogue featuring Sarah Grandin from the Clark Art Institute and Elizabeth Cleland from The Met

Save the date for this June 24 program about Savonnerie carpets for the Louvre’s Grande Galerie

Prize For Excellence and Innovation

Nominations for the $100,000 Prize are due by June 30

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LATEST NEWS

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Jun 21

Open

Congratulations to the recipients of 2021 Decorative Arts Trust Research Grants:
-Laura Beltrán-Rubio, PhD candidate, American Studies, William & Mary
-Catherine Cyr, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
-Susan Eberhard, PhD candidate, Art History, University of California, Berkeley (DARTS Grant)
-Kelly Fu, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Decorative Arts
-Jena Gilbert-Merrill, MA candidate, University of Delaware’s Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (Marie Zimmermann Grant)
-Michael Hartman, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Delaware
-Delanie Linden, PhD candidate, History, Theory, & Criticism of Art and Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-Alexandra M. Macdonald, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
-Morgan McCullough, PhD candidate, History, William & Mary
-Ramey Mize, PhD candidate, Art History, University of Pennsylvania
-Lauryn Smith, PhD candidate, Art History, Case Western Reserve University
-Astrid Graves Tvetenstrand, PhD candidate, American & New England Studies, Boston University
-Rachel Winter, PhD candidate, History of Art & Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara
-Margaret Wood, MA candidate, Decorative Arts and Design History, George Washington University

We look forward to learning from your research!

We look forward to learning from your research! See the link in our bio to read more about the recipients in an article that will soon appear in the summer issue of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵: https://decorativeartstrust.org/2021-research-grants/.

Pictured: Lauryn Smith is analyzing the cabinets of Amalia van Solms-Braunfels (1602-1675), Princess of Orange, who cultivated a global social network to acquire objects. Lauryn will travel to the Peabody Essex Museum to compare items listed in the extant inventories of Amalia’s cabinets to museum objects, including this porcelain Elephant Pouring Vessel (Kendi) made by artists in Jingdezhen, China, c. 1600. (Museum purchase, made possible by an anonymous donor, 2004. AE86475.)

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Jun 18

Open

The 19th is #Juneteenth, a day commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.

The decorative arts have a unique way of bringing stories of enslavement to life, as is the case with Ashley's Sack, displayed at @MiddletonPlace and then at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (@NMAAHC).

The unbleached cotton sack is embroidered with these words:
My great grandmother Rose
mother of Ashley gave her this sack when
she was sold at age 9 in South Carolina
it held a tattered dress 3 handfulls [sic] of
pecans a braid of Roses hair. Told her
It be filled with my Love always
she never saw her again
Ashley is my grandmother
Ruth Middleton
1921

Research shows that "Rose" and "Ashley" are likely enslaved people owned by Charleston merchant and planter Robert Martin, Sr. In a recent 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 interview, Historian Tiya Miles, author of 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘺’𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘢 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦, says "The power of this object seems to emanate from it...And I think the power is anchored in the materiality of it, the fact that it’s a concrete and tangible item, and then the emotionality of what’s expressed on the surface of the sack, through the embroidered story. So the experience of engagement for the viewer or reader is a double or triple whammy—there are all these different modes of connection with the thing itself."

Read more about Ashley's Sack:
- 𝘚𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 interview https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/06/ashleys-sack-slavery-history.html
- 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 blog post https://southernspaces.org/2016/slaverys-traces-search-ashleys-sack/

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Jun 17

Open

Join us for our June 24 virtual dialogue at 1:00 pm ET to learn about the marshaling and measurement of trees and laborers in the manufacture of 93 giant Savonnerie carpets for the Louvre’s Grande Galerie. Sarah Grandin, PhD, Clark-Getty Paper Project Curatorial Fellow at the Clark Art Institute, will present “Trees, Orphans, and the Forgotten Figures of Savonnerie Carpet Manufacturing (1662-1688).”

After her lecture, Sarah will be joined in conversation with Elizabeth Cleland, Curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The hour-long program will close with an audience Q&A.

Register via the link in our bio:
https://decorativeartstrust.org/grandin-dialogue/

Pictured: Savonnerie Manufactory, 59th carpet made for the Grande Galerie at the Louvre, No date for delivery, wool and linen, 4 x 8.95 m, Collection of the Mobilier national, Paris, GMT 2016. Photograph by Isabelle Bideau.

@elizabeth.cleland
@metmuseum
@clarkart
#TrustVirtual
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Research
#Textiles
#Carpets
#FrenchHistory

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Jun 14

Open

Join us on June 21 at 1:00 pm ET for our panel discussion on Decorative Arts and the Market featuring antiques dealers. Ben Miller, Director of Research at S.J. Shrubsole and host of the #CuriousObjectsPodcast, will moderate the conversation. Hear from Kim Ahara, Owner, Q Antiques and Design; Pippa Biddle, Co-Founder/Co-Owner, Quittner; Charis Tyndell, Director, Charles Ede Ltd.; and Taylor Thistlethwaite, Founder, Thistlethwaite Americana as they share their experience working in the decorative arts field. This program is sponsored by 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦 ANTIQUES. Have your questions ready—there will be a Q&A at the end of the discussion.

Register for this Pay What You Can event using the link in our bio!
https://decorativeartstrust.org/june-2021-panel/

Pictured: Carl Johann Spielter, 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘱, 1919, Bremen. Oil on canvas.

@antiquesmag
@objectiveinterest
@qantiquesanddesign
@quittnerantiques
@charles_ede
@thistle_americana
#TrustVirtual
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Antiques
#AntiquesDealers
#PanelDiscussion
#VirtualPanel

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Jun 10

Open

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Jun 8

Open

On June 16 at 1:00 pm ET, Alexandra A. Kirtley, the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts, welcomes the Trust back for a virtual tour of the new Robert L. McNeil Jr. Galleries dedicated to American art between 1650 and 1850. Alexandra guides us through 10,000 square feet of redesigned gallery spaces that address topics such as immigration, colonialism, trade, and underrepresented narratives. Join us as we enjoy this spectacular collection of American decorative art in an entirely new light.

Registration Fee: Pay What You Can.

Register at https://decorativeartstrust.org/pma-june-tour/. Link in bio!

Pictured: Made by John Aitken, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Side Chair, 1808. 1935-13-9.

@alexandraakirtley
@philamuseum
#TrustVirtual
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Research
#MuseumFromHome
#Museum
#Furniture
#Philadelphia

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Jun 4

Open

What details can you see in these photographs of a memory jug that provide clues to the maker?

Learn about the fascinating and multicultural history of memory vessels in our new 'Bulletin' post: https://decorativeartstrust.org/memory-vessels-post/. (Link in bio!)

#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#MemoryJug
#MemoryVessel
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History

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Jun 3

Open

June 30 is the deadline for Prize for Excellence and Innovation nominations! This $100,000 Prize funds outstanding projects that advance the public’s appreciation of decorative art, fine art, architecture, or landscape. The Prize is awarded to a non-profit organization in the United States or abroad for a scholarly endeavor, such as museum exhibitions, print and digital publications, and online databases. The Trust’s selection committee aims to recognize impactful and original projects that advance scholarship in the field while reaching a broad audience.

See the Prize link in our bio for nomination instructions: https://decorativeartstrust.org/prize-excellence-and-innovation/. Please share!

Pictured: Fiber artist Consuelo Jimenez Underwood at the loom, photo by Mark Markley, courtesy of 2020 Prize recipient @CraftInAmerica. Craft in America's Craft Video Dictionary has been in the development stages since January. This online compendium of concise videos will be an accessible, vetted, go-to source for anyone who seeks to understand the nuts and bolts of process and technique, as demonstrated by professional artists and makers. In addition to consulting with various curators, teaching artists, educators, and professional artists on how this new online tool can be as user-friendly and widely-applicable as possible, Craft in America has generated an initial terminology database to be tackled over the next two and a half years. For more information about the Craft Video Dictionary, see: https://www.craftinamerica.org/publication/craft-video-dictionary.

Craft in America welcomes input from the decorative arts community to ensure that the Craft Video Dictionary develops to best serve the field. To share your thoughts about how this resource would be most useful to you, please visit: https://forms.gle/8uLg9UHgCCStqouj7.

#TrustPrize
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#FineArt
#Architecture
#LandscapeDesign
#Craft
#Museum
#HistoricHouse
#Curator
#Nonprofit
#Prize

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May 27

Open

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May 21

Open

Curious about Gorham Manufacturing Company's finest wares and techniques? Watch the three-part Rhode Island PBS Original 'Chasing Silver: The Story of Gorham' starting May 23.

The new documentary series follows the company from its small, enterprising origins in 1831 to its rise as a world-class silversmithing titan. Combining contemporary interviews with archival footage, photographs, and original concept art, the series chronicles how Gorham became synonymous with luxury and unparalleled craftsmanship. Each episode meets with academics, former employees, curators, and collectors, providing a compelling, firsthand account of the company's local roots and lasting impact on American industry.

Learn how to view episodes at https://www.ripbs.org/blogs/bird-wire/chasing-silver-the-story-of-gorham/.

Pictured: Designed by William C. Codman for Gorham Manufacturing Company, Silvergilt Nautilus Centerpiece, Providence, RI. Image courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art.

@rhodeislandpbs
@spencermarksltd
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Silver
#Gorham
#GorhamManufacturingCompany
#GorhamSilver
#RhodeIsland
#RI
#Documentary

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May 17

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May 14

Open

Laura Arnold Leibman’s ‘The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects’ (recipient of three 2020 National Jewish Book Awards) restores a diverse range of Jewish women to our understanding of early American decorative arts and material culture. Read the review of this exciting book in ‘The Bulletin’! (Link in bio.)

Pictured: Anonymous, Portrait of Sarah Brandon Moses, ca. 1815–16. Watercolor on ivory; 2 ¾ x 2 ¼ in. The Art of the Jewish Family (New York: Bard Graduate Center, 2020), p. 93. Courtesy of the American Jewish Historical Society.

@bardgradcenter
@reedcollege
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#History
#JewishHistory
#Book
#Research
#Miniature

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May 12

Open

Register for the Trust’s Fall Symposium! Join us September 15-19 for a wonderful coastal New England experience on Massachusetts’s North Shore, a region abounding with historic houses and impressive collections. Founded in 1629, Salem, the “City of Peace,” is of great importance. This vibrant, pedestrian-friendly port town features a bevy of beautifully preserved architecture. Participants registering for the optional pre- and post-symposium tours will have the opportunity to explore the larger region, from Newburyport to Marblehead.

Pictured above is the Gardner-Pingree House, a masterpiece of Federal architecture by Samuel McIntire. The interior of the Gardner-Pingree House (1804) features lavishly-carved woodwork including fireplace mantels, cornices, internal window shutters, and stairway balustrades. The Gardner-Pingree House will be just one of the many important sites we visit during the Symposium.

We are grateful for the support of Skinner in making this program possible, not to mention our incredible colleagues at the Peabody Essex Museum, Historic New England, and The Trustees of Reservations and our fabulous lineup of speakers!

Spaces are limited! To align with ongoing capacity limitations in Massachusetts, we must cap registration for this event to 50 participants. See the link in our bio to view itineraries and register today: https://decorativeartstrust.org/salem-2021/

@skinnerauctions
@peabodyessex
@historicnewengland
@thetrustees
@capeannmuseum
#TravelsWithTheTrust
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Architecture
#Design
#Research
#Travel
#ArtTravel
#Symposium
#Salem
#GardnerPingree

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May 11

Open

Wendy Cooper, Curator Emerita of Furniture, Winterthur Museum, will lead us on a tour of a remarkable survival, Primitive Hall on May 19 at 1:00 pm ET. Joseph Pennock, who came from County Tipperary, Ireland, acquired the property in 1703 and built the house in 1738. Primitive Hall retains its original character and exemplifies a sense of 18th-century solitude and strength. Although our Study Trip Abroad to Northern Ireland will now take place in May 2022, visiting Primitive Hall virtually will offer a taste of the architecture and culture we will encounter next year. We hope you can join us!

Registration link in bio!
https://decorativeartstrust.org/primitive-hall-tour/

@winterthurmuse
#PrimitiveHall
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Research
#Architecture
#HistoricHouse
#virtualtour

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May 6

Open

Join The Preservation Society of Newport County virtually on Thursday, May 13, at 12:30 pm ET for the Emerging Scholars Colloquium, presented free via Zoom Webinar in conjunction with the Decorative Arts Trust. New research into 270-year-old Hunter House, the 18th-century maritime trade in Newport crafts, and Ogden Codman’s designs for the third floor of The Breakers will be discussed in sessions lasting roughly 30 minutes each. Preservation Society Research Fellows MaryKate Smolenski, Catherine Doucette, and Sébastien Dutton will present their work, joined by professionals in the fields of history, museums and decorative arts serving as moderators.

See the link in our bio to learn more and register!

@newport_mansions
@historicnewengland
@brooklynmuseum
@catherineedoucette
@museummarykate
@lizbethofgeorge
@_cmsmc_
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#History
#Learning
#Newport
#RI
#HunterHouse
#TheBreakers

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May 4

Open

Join us at 1:00 pm ET on May 10 as we learn about some incredible ceramics from Ireland with artist, designer, and collector Alec Cobbe. Alec will share an illustrated talk about the creation, dispersal, and recovery of the ‘Peacock’ Worcester service of 1763, the largest mid-18th-century service recorded from any British porcelain manufacturer. Thomas and Lady Betty Cobbe of Newbridge House, County Dublin, acquired the service after becoming acquainted with Dr. Wall’s porcelain factory in Worcester as they traveled from Dublin to Bath.

After his presentation, Alec will be joined in conversation with Leslie Fitzpatrick, who previously served as the Samuel and M. Patricia Grober Associate Curator of European Decorative Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The hour-long virtual dialogue will end with an audience Q&A.

Register via the link in our bio: https://decorativeartstrust.org/cobbe-dialogue/.

This program is dedicated in memory of Christopher Monkhouse, a recipient of the Trust’s Award of Merit, whose extraordinary exhibition and publication ‘Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690–1840’ continue to serve as a testament to the incredible material culture of Ireland.

Pictured: An exotic bird on the inside of a large pierced dessert basket, decorated in the Lady Betty Cobbe pattern, soft-paste Worcester porcelain, Cobbe Collection.

@aleccobbe
@cobbe_collection
@artinstitutechi
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Design
#Research
#Ceramics
#Porcelain
#Ireland

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Apr 29

Open

Calling all brick nerds and lovers of 18th-century Virginia houses! Ralph Harvard, the great antiquarian and designer, is back with a fascinating virtual tour. This time we visited Brooke’s Bank on the Rappahannock River, where Ralph shared some of the architectural features that make this house so special. Read about the tour and watch the recording via the link in our bio.

@theralphharvard
#BrookesBank
#TrustVirtual
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#History
#Architecture
#HistoricHome
#Brickwork
#InteriorDesign
#VirtualTour
#Virginia
#EssexCounty
#Rappahannock

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Apr 28

Open

“Objects become iconic by their dramatic impact on our culture...When a tool is imbued with the life of the artisan who crafted it, or the longhunter who carried it, only then can that tool transcend itself and become iconic, and therein provide the weave and color that gives our culture its texture.”
- Mel Hankla, author of ‘Into the Bluegrass: Art and Artistry of Kentucky’s Historic Icons’

Read more about Mel and this new book in ‘The Bulletin’: https://decorativeartstrust.org/mel-hankla-bluegrass-post/. (Link in bio.)

Pictured: The Frankfort sideboard dates to 1790. Primary wood is figured cherry with inlaid decoration with bell flower drops. Left to right: miniature sugar chest, flintlock pistol c. 1780, belonging to Colonel William Crabtree, stoneware by Isaac Thomas, coin silver pitcher by Asa Blanchard, coin silver beakers by Thomas Marsh and George McDannold, miniature on ivory by Matthew Harris Jouett, child’s Windsor chair from the estate of noted Kentucky Collector, Mrs. Eleanor Offutt, Kentucky powderhorn with applied antler tip from Robertson family. On the wall, “Nannie” by her uncle, Joseph Henry Bush.

@kyhistorian
#MelHankla
#DecorativeArts
#MaterialCulture
#ArtHistory
#Art
#History
#Research
#Antiques
#Furniture
#Longrifle
#Kentucky
#Book

ON THE ROAD AND ONLINE

Exploring the Charles and Ray Eames House

IN THE FIELD

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Virtual Dialogue featuring Sarah Grandin from the Clark Art Institute and Elizabeth Cleland from The Met

Prize For Excellence and Innovation

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