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Arts and Crafts
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26413770
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Arts and Crafts
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Records of the First Lady's Office (Clinton Administration)
Bobbie Greene's Files
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1995
By Phil Patton
Today's crafts join
More than 75 craft artists have contributed
to the new collection, which is currently on
our nation's past
view at the National Museum of American Art
at the White House
Dale Chihuly's scalloped blown-glass sculpture is
Presidential portraits in the Blue Room (opposite)
right at home in the Center Hall of the White House.
preside over David Levi's two-foot-high Bird Jar.
Two graceful yellow shapes, evoking those of ancient
have left the White House, traveling across town to the
Greece, sit on an antique table. Outside, through the
Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art
window, the Washington Monument rises against a
(NMAA), where they will be on view until September 4.
bright autumn sky. In the Yellow Oval Room of the
In the words of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the
White House, the two glass vases by craftsman Dante
show illustrates "the extraordinary beauty and diversity
Marioni, one elongated and rising, the other wide and
of American craftsmanship." For those who cannot
cuplike, seem at home. Pondered for a while, they sug-
come to Washington, a catalog of the show, The White
gest wading birds of two species, or perhaps even up-
House Collection of American Crafts, is being published by
right Don Quixote and squat Sancho Panza (see cover).
Harry N. Abrams. Moreover, thanks to a grant from
But for a few months, Marioni's work, along with
MCI, a tour of the exhibit will be available on the World
those of 76 other contemporary American craft artists,
Wide Web, a part of the Internet, complete with images,
Photographs by John Bigelow Taylor
52
- 6
Imago Bag by Kate Vogel and John Littleton, in
the Entrance Hall, looks soft but is actually glass.
Sharon and Leon Niehues created their Eburna basket
using white oak, waxed linen thread and coralberry.
Ronald Fleming's lathe-turned, carved redwood-burl
bowl resonates with the rich wood of a Red Room table.
Anne Hirondelle's stoneware teapots are a natural fit
with the Diplomatic Reception Room's 1834 wallpaper.
54
descriptions, sound and video clips. This breaks new
for Presidential dinners. About a million visitors to the
ground; it is part of the museum's goal of reaching peo-
White House also saw them, but Monroe dreamed of
ple who can't travel to its stately premises.
showing the works to many more people than that.
The juxtaposition of high-tech and handmade may at
Since the Renwick Gallery's schedule was full, the ex-
first seem incongruous but, in fact, the show reveals a
hibit was planned for the NMAA.
wonderful congruence between these seeming oppo-
In placing the pieces in the White House, Monroe
sites. Creating computer programs is a craft of its own,
worked carefully to find locations where they would be
demanding talent and skill. And many crafts are more
particularly effective, although they will be rotated
high-tech than we might think, using advanced tools
from time to time. Master glass artist Dale Chihuly's
and materials to leverage the vision of the hand.
Cerulean Blue Macchia with Chartreuse Lip Wrap, a form
"There's a lot of technology to crafts," muses the
that resembles a huge sea scallop dipped in rainbows,
show's curator, Michael Monroe, "and we were interest-
repeats the scalloped pattern of the fanlight in the Cen-
ed in showing the connection." Monroe cites Edward
ter Hall. David Levi conceived his Bird Jar with the Blue
Moulthrop, originally trained as an architect, who pro-
Room in mind; the arabesque of the blue bird on the
duces huge turned wood bowls. Moulthrop soaks the
jar's top contributes to the sense of calm in the elegant
wood for three months in polyethylene glycol, a chemi-
room, where portraits of Madison and Jefferson hang.
cal solution that keeps the wood from shrinking or
Ronald Fleming's leaf-inspired, redwood-burl bowl rises
cracking. Only this solution allows Moulthrop to work
like spring growth in the Red Room. Graceful, wheel-
pieces of wood this size. Another craft artist, Sidney
thrown stoneware bottles by Michael Sherrill sit near a
Hutter, uses glues cured by ultraviolet light to bond
portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
pieces of glass. These glues, developed for the electron-
ics and glass industries, lend a seeming fragility to the
The fine-art quality of craft
spiral patterns of Hutter's White House Vase #1.
The crafts collection grew out of a 1992 proclamation
All of the craft artists were surprised and delighted
by President George Bush that designated 1993. as the
when Monroe originally contacted them. Nathan
Year of American Craft. After Mrs. Clinton's arrival at
Youngblood-who studied with his grandmother, Mar-
the White House, she talked with Monroe, curator-in-
garet Tafoya, one of the last of the traditional Pueblo
charge of the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, which is a
potters-went to the White House after his piece was
part of the NMAA. Together, they came up with the idea
put on exhibit. It was a great honor, he says, to see his
of decorating the White House Christmas tree with
Black Carved Jar in the stately Cross Hall. "In the last
hand-crafted ornaments. Over a single weekend, Mon-
25 years," adds Youngblood, "artists have taken pottery
roe worked feverishly to contact craft artists, asking
to such a level that people are beginning to understand
them to send ornaments. Enough were received to dec-
there is a possibility of its being fine-art quality and
orate not only the White House's ceiling-high Fraser fir
not just craft."
but seven other small trees as well.
For his part, Monroe is little concerned with defining
Seeking to expand on that project, Mrs. Clinton and
crafts or distinguishing them from high art or folk art.
Monroe decided to assemble a group of larger crafts
And while the NMAA is renowned for its collections of
items for the White House itself. Monroe compiled a list
high art and folk art, including self-taught art, the distinc-
of potential artists, expecting only about half of those he
tions that NMAA director Elizabeth Broun sees are not
contacted to agree to donate work. Once the idea was
based on function or hierarchy. To her, what distinguishes
born, "I made up the list in 48 hours," Monroe recalls,
craft is a highly sophisticated understanding of materials
his eyes gleaming with mischief. The short time period is
and process; they are at the heart of the creative experi-
a sign not of carelessness but of connoisseurship; Mon-
ence. "We don't pretend the categories are divine revela-
roe is one of only a handful of people well enough in-
tion," Broun says, "but they are useful and practical."
formed about the crafts world to make such decisions so
To be sure, crafts suffer from a bad image with the
rapidly. All 77 of the craft artists agreed to participate.
public at large. The term carries connotations of baskets
When the works arrived, they were placed on Duncan
made from kits and of low technology, in contrast with
Phyfe tables and historic marble mantels in time for
"high" arts such as oil painting or bronze sculpture. Part
Christmas at the White House. Some of the pieces were
of this, to Monroe, has to do with simple ignorance of
used to serve foreign leaders being entertained by the
history. "In the early Renaissance," he points out, "at the
President and First Lady; others became centerpieces
top of the hierarchy of artists was the goldsmith."
In the West, the idea of crafts as a category separate
Phil Patton wrote Made in USA: The Secret Histories
from fine art emerged as a reaction to the Industrial
of the Things that Made America. In June 1993 he
Revolution, as crafts came to be seen as a handmade,
wrote on the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
humanistic alternative to the "soul-deadening" ma-
55
of juxtaposing crafts and computers with a version of
the show on the Internet. "It lets you go into the White
House in a way you could not otherwise do," he says one
day while planning the virtual exhibition. He sees many
ways of organizing the images and information. "We will
have an electronic light table," Dietz says, where images
will appear on a computer screen like slides laid out.
"Clicking" on one of these little images will cause a
screen-size image to appear along with a caption. Other
planned features include a look at a map of the United
States showing where the craft artists live; clicking on
their names will call up further information, including
videotaped interviews with many of them. Viewers can
also take a guided tour of the exhibit with Michael Mon-
roe or put together a personal tour, "navigating" with
the computer mouse.
All this, of course, is not the same as visiting the actual
exhibition, but many people do not have the choice of a
real visit. The computer tour will be accessible to peo-
ple around the globe, and this version of the show will
never go "out of print"; it will live on inside a pizza-box-
A French pier table bought by President James Monroe
size computer on the first floor of the NMAA (the ad-
in 1817 holds Prayer Bowls, made by Cheryl Williams.
dress is http://www.nmaa.si.edu).
One floor above that computer, in the grand barrel-
vaulted and granite-columned office of director Eliza-
beth Broun, the exhibition's planning group met in Feb-
chine. This is the tradition of William Morris in England
ruary to discuss the Internet version of the show. One
and of Gustav Stickley in the United States. In the White
couldn't help but notice that Broun's carefully hand-
House itself, the appreciation of crafts as art was evident
crafted desk contrasts with the computer that sits on it.
as early as 1882, when the otherwise little-remembered
At the meeting, there's a lot of talk of "hypertext
President Chester Arthur commissioned Louis Comfort
markup language" and "built-on-the-fly databases."
Tiffany to create a floor-to-ceiling stained-glass screen
Michael Monroe rolls his eyes and smiles at the strange-
for the Cross Hall (it remained there until 1902).
ness of it all. He has never seen the World Wide Web,
During the 1930s, when the Depression and the New
but he has a number of very good ideas nonetheless. He
Deal moved the country into a retrospective mood,
has gotten images from the craft artists themselves; he
there was rising consciousness of crafts as both a histori-
has a list of those who are willing to be interviewed on
cal legacy to be documented and a living, evolving set of
videotape in their studios.
traditions. Schools such as Penland in North Carolina,
For Elizabeth Broun, there are concerns. "We're get-
Otis (now Otis Parsons) in California and Cranbrook in
ting into all kinds of uncharted territory here," she says.
Michigan developed programs to keep the crafts vital.
How will visitors react to the idea of a stationary camera
The American Craft Museum was established in 1956
that will provide images of the exhibition spaces over
just down the street from the Museum of Modern Art in
the Internet? Why is it useful? "It reinforces the meta-
New York City. In 1972 the Renwick Gallery, housed in a
phor that you are there," says Steve Dietz.
French Second Empire building next door to Blair
Will there be enough telephone capacity if the virtual
House, the Presidential guest residence, became the na-
exhibition becomes very popular? "We call it the 'suc-
tion's official crafts museum. Since Michael Monroe
cess disaster," Dietz laughs.
became curator-in-charge in 1986, the Renwick has
In the end, what they agree on is that the virtual exhi-
broadened its role in the field of crafts, publishing
bition must be as carefully put together as the real one,
books in the "Contemporary American Craft Series"
as elegant in form as the objects in the show. Says Dietz,
and mounting exhibitions on everything from silver-
"It has to be crafted by hand-so to speak."
ware to quilts.
For the designers of the current exhibition, an evolu-
tion in the ways that art is presented to the public
seemed to match the theme of the evolution of the crafts
Michael Sherrill's Incandescent Bottles echo Aaron
themselves. Steve Dietz of the NMAA conceived the idea
Shikler's 1970 portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
56
talk of
the trade
continued from page 58
16 EAST 79 STREET
NEW YORK CITY
New York
10021
MICHELLE
Monroe Joins
(212) 734-0900
Peter Joseph
(201) 327-1794
ROSENFELD
From the White House to-
(FAX)
GALLERY
possibly-your house. Michael W.
Monroe, who spent two decades at the
Smithsonian Institution's Renwick
HOURS:
FOUNDED 1970
Gallery in Washington, D.C., and who
TUES.-SAT. 10-6
curated an American craft collection
for President and Mrs. Clinton, has
left the public sector to become
curator in charge at New York's Peter
Joseph Gallery.
"I'm looking forward to a more
tightly focused way of working," says
the 55-year-old Monroe. "At the Ren-
wick. I was responsible for everything
from taking care of the leaking roof to
Michael W. Monroe with First Lady
Renoir, charcoal on paper, 1905 141/2" x28"
Hillary Rodham Clinton. Monroe chose
contemporary crafts for the White House.
fund-raising to scholarship and acqui-
sitions." Now, he says. he will have
one task-"working with collectors,
museums and certainly corporations
to develop their collections of Ameri-
FEATURING:
can studio furniture"-the Peter
ARCHIPENKO, ARMAN, AVERY, BOTERO,
Joseph Gallery's specialty.
BRAQUE, CALDER, CHADWICK, Chagall,
Born in Wisconsin, where he still
maintains a ranch, Monroe received a
DE KOONING, DEGAS, DUBUFFET,
master's degree from Michigan's noted
FRANCIS, FRANKENTHALER, GLEIZES,
Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1971.
While a student there, he created the
HAYDEN, L'HOTE, LEGER, LEMPICKA,
concept, graphics and slide projec-
LICHTENSTEIN, METZINGER, MIRO, MITCHELL,
tions for the exhibition "Have You Ever
PICASSO, RENOIR, RIVERS, VALMIER
SEPTEMBER 1995
59
talk of
the trade
ESTATE AUCTION
continued from page 59
Important collections
Wondered Where It All Went?" The
show, Monroe recalls, "dealt with the
removed from the Toronto
throwaway components of our society
residence of the late Dr. Alan
prior to America's interest in recycling."
Chippendale Armchair
New York, circa 1780
K. Laws to be offered in their
By 1974 Monroe had become an
entirety without additions.
associate curator at the Renwick, the
Smithsonian's museum for American
Some Highlights: American
crafts; by 1986 he was running the
Federal Sideboard circa
show as chief officer. During his
tenure, Monroe organized exhibitions
1790; Goddard-Townsend
of artists including Wendell Castle,
Card Table; 18th Century
Dale Chihuly and Joyce Kozloff and
Dutch Chandelier; French
on themes ranging from American Art
Commode from Hotel Dieu
Deco to "The Animal Image: Contem-
Canopy Bed
circa 1700; Rare Carvings;
porary Objects and the Beast," an
Salem, Mass., circa 1810
examination of the animal form in con-
Paintings including
temporary craft. In 1977, he advised
Portraits & Early Marines;
Joan Mondale, wife of then-Vice-
Miniatures & numerous
President Walter Mondale (and
Equally Valuable items
herself a ceramicist), on her crafts
forming the finest single-
collection. Two years ago the call
owner Estate Auction in
came again: Monroe found himself
working with the Clintons to amass 72
Canada in recent years.
Miniature by Nathaniel
objects, which he eventually installed
Home 1718-1784
in the White House's period settings.
November 6th, 7th & 8th,
"The White House Collection of
1995.
American Crafts" (with a catalogue
Exhibitions the preceding
published this year by Harry N.
five days.
Abrams) is currently on a national
tour; a "virtual tour" is available on
Illustrated Catalogue $25.00
the Internet. From October 7 through
10% Buyers Premium
November 17, it can be seen at the
American Federal Chest
Please Note the Canadian dollar currently
circa 1800
trading at a substantial discount..
Memorial Art Gallery at New York's
University of Rochester.
The First Couple "has a real sin-
THE GARDNER
cere appreciation for American craft,"
GALLERIES
Monroe says. "Mrs. Clinton knew all
the names." Among the artists
represented in the collection are Cas-
Estate & Fine Art
tle, Albert Paley and William Harper,
Auctioneers
all of whom are in the Joseph stable.
English Sheraton Tea
The gallery, which has a branch
Table, circu 1810
186 York Street,
in Southampton, New York, also rep-
London, Ontario
resents Wendy Wahl, Michelle
Canada N6A 1B5
Holzapfel, Tim Philbrick and John
Dunnigan, among others.
Telephone
"Studio furniture is one of the
(519) 439-3333
most dynamic forms in practice
Fax
today," says Monroe. "These things
(519) 439-8873
go through cycles. Ceramics had a
great heyday in the 1960s. Now we're
Tallcase Clock Prou
Stearns Family Mass.
One of a Pair of
circa 1790
Georgian Looking Glasses
ART&AUCTION
60
talk of
Mernism
the trade
continued from page 60
in the midst of an incredible moment
of furniture-making by artists in this
country." But whatever the trends,
Monroe adds, "The most popular
museum exhibitions are ones that
focus on objects, often because of their
accessibility through function. People
At Home in the Twentieth Century
can relate to chairs they sit in." Robin
Cembulest
EXPOSITION ε SALE
70 DEALERS FROM 18 STATES & EUROPE
JAMES L. KNIGHT CENTER
Trade Notes
400 S.E. 2ND AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA
New York-Over 250,000 people
JANUARY 19 - 21, 1996
are expected to attend the SoHo Arts
EARLY BUYER PREVIEW FRIDAY JANUARY 19, 6 TO 10 P.M.
Festival, a "vastly expanded" version
of what was in previous years merely
SATURDAY, IIA.M. TO 8P.M. & SUNDAY, IIA.M. TO 6P.M.
the SoHo Block Party. Spearheaded
ADMISSION $10 PREVIEW ADMISSION $35
by former dealer Simon Watson, the
FOR MIAMI MODERNISM AIRLINE AND HOTEL PACKAGE
festival has been extended from one
CALL ARTOURS INTERNATIONAL, (800)226 6972.
late afternoon and evening into a
CAUSSIN PRODUCTIONS INC. 12150 E.OUTER DRIVE, DETROIT, MI.48224 PHONE (313)886-3443 FAX (313)886-1067
three-day celebration, running from
October 6 through 8.
Zurich-The project to publish an
Andy Warhol catalogue raisonné,
begun by the late Thomas Ammann,
Rouen
Capital
is well under way. The first of five
of normandy
projected volumes is now being
19th
assembled by co-editors Georg Frei
and Neil-Printz; it will cover Warhol's
paintings and sculptures from the late
National
1940s through the 1960s. Owners of
paintings, sculptures or drawings not
already recorded by the catalogue
Antique
raisonné are asked to contact either
Thomas Ammann Fine Art (Restel-
Dealers
bergstrasse 97, Zurich, CH-8044) or
the Andy Warhol Foundation for
Exhibition
the Visual Arts (65 Bleecker Street,
New York, N.Y., 10012) no later than
May 1, 1996.
Buste
EXHIBITION PARK
d'Apolion
Musee de
New York-Modern and contempo-
7-15 OCTOBER 1995
Céramique
de Rouen
rary art dealer Grace Borgenicht, who
represented artists including Milton
Antique Dealer
Avery and Wolf Kahn, is closing
special preview
her gallery at 724 Fifth Avenue and
retiring after 44 years in the trade.
300 EXHIBITORS
Contemporary art dealer Nicole Klags-
October 5 from 7 Am to 6 PM
brun is also closing her gallery (51
Parraine por
Creation ROUEN
Greene Street), but will remain in New
For information
York as a private dealer.
LEFIGARO
(33) 35.18.28.28
magazine
Fax :
(33) 35.66.20.21
ART&AUCTION
62
14
A000
HITE
'OME/APRIL 27, 1995
c
R
T
S
THRUGGE
THE
8300 UNITED
288
WASHING
CLINTON
COLLECTION
By Heidi L Berry
meant to call attention to themselves, and
thereby to the art of craft. Starting
tomorrow, they will do so more publicly.
The clock, the glass jar and 70 other objects
magine walking into the main entrance
will go on display at the National Museum of
I
hall of the White House, with its
American Art. The exhibition, "The White
marble columns, crystal chandeliers
House Collection of American Crafts," runs
and early 19th-century gilded
through September 4.
furniture, and seeing a funky contem-
The collection can be seen as the
porary clock on a side table. The clock, by
culmination of an effort by Hillary Rodham
craft artist Wendell Castle, resembles a
Clinton to celebrate the year of craft,
person as much as it does a timepiece.
decreed before her arrival in the White
It is no more startling in its setting than
House by both a joint resolution of Congress
the large, brilliantly colored blue and yellow
and a presidential proclamation. The
"Bird Vase"
glass jar, with a bird perched on its lid, in the
collection, exhibition and accompanying
is glass by
antiques-filled Vermeil Room. There, the
book, published by Harry N. Abrams, for
Dmltri
French neo-classical mantel and the pier
which the First Lady wrote the foreword,
Michaelides
table made in New York around 1810 by
also can be seen as the highlight of a career
and David
master craftsman Charles-Honore Lannuier,
for Michael W. Monroe. Retiring in June as
W. Levi.
are far more in harmony with each other and
curator-in-charge of the museum's Renwick
the sensibility of the First Home than the
Gallery, where crafts are the focus, Monroe
whimsical container by glassmaker David W.
selected the artists, and in many cases, the
Levi.
individual works of art.
And that is just the point.
Monroe nees "craft as a full-fledged art
These pieces, part of what is now referred
form," but he acknowledges that the field has
to as the White House crafts collection, were
often played "second cousin to the visual arts."
Thus the collection and its attendant
recognition are also a high point in the careers
of the artists-even those with national
reputations-who gave examples of their
work, with values that range from $600 to
$20,000. to the White House when it asked
for a contribution to a permanent collection. It
was only later that the White House was
reminded it cannot accept the works of living
artists, and so the collection has been
scheduled for relocation to a future Clinton
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Library, presumably in Arkansas.
continued on page 20
Date Chibuly's
cerulean blue
rippled bowl
Mosaic white plan bowl by Philip
poised on as
Moulthrop, above.
antique table is
Fiber basket titled "Eburnia" by
the White House.
Sharen and Leon Niehues, right.
PHOTOS BY JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR
WASHINGTON HOME/APRIL 27) 1995
Reprinted
by
permission
from
HOUSE
BEAUTIFUL
©
1995
The
Carp.
AS
Startling in their White House setting, the objects gathered
a
for Hillary Rodham Clinton are going on public display.
White House
enthusiastic assessments, not surprising
Monroe and Stock both recall hower
come from craft professionals such as
together they walked through the White
Janet Kardon, director of the American
House, noting various locations they
continued from page THEREAM
Craft Museum in New York. "It looked
thought appropriate for displaying crafts.
The genesis of the Clinton collection
wonderful," she recalls.
Then Monroe went back to his office and
was in 1993. Looking ahead to their fint
Even people with more traditional
consulted my memory bank" for objects
nonseli
2610
Christmas holiday in the White House,
bent, such as Wendy'd Cooper, curate
that would "complement the historical
Hillary Clinton decided to decorate the
decorative arts at the Baltimore Muser
setting of the White House" and could also
Christmas trees with ornaments made and
of Art and à member of the Committe
"stand on their own." Within a month, be
ated by craftspeople, 1 creative but
the Preservation of the White House
had compiled a list of dozens of artists
ly radical idea. But in a bold departure
supportive. "As a special installation,
whose work he says fulfilled the criteria be
on the formal, traditional nature of the
were well placed and most of them
thought appropriate for such a collection.
White House, she also envisioned craft
very exciting." she says.
That the objects were intended to form
objects placed throughout the rooms.
After the exhibit ended, most items
"the first permanent White House Craft
It was an adventuresome step, and it
were put in storage. Some went to he
Collection" is clear from the letter Stock
could have easily failed. Mark Hampton,
First Family's private quarters, others to
sent to more than 70 artists in her capacity
the interior designer and member of the
the West Wing, near the President' office
as "Special Assistant to The President and
Committee for the Preservation of the
and a number were used as centerpieces at
Social Secretary." In the solicitation, which
White House, describes crafts as "not
White House luncheons.
in most cases requested a specific work, or
easily integrated into decorative schemes."
According to Ann Stock, social
a piece from a particular series, Stock
assured the artists their contribution "will
They are particularly difficult to display
secretary to the First Lady, Hillary Clinton
in the narrowly focused time framework of
turned to her shortly after moving into the
be displayed in a prominent location in the
White House at events throughout the
the White House, the period 1812 to
White House to come up with specific
years."
1825, he adds. But by many accounts, it
ways in which to feature crafts there.
That scenario, it appears, was overly
was a smashing success. The most
Stock turned to Monroe.
optimistic. For the guidelines of the
Committee for the Preservation of the
White House state: "Works of an artist are
not considered for acquisition unless the
artist is deceased and the work executed
25 years prior to the current date." An
PHOTO BY JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR
exception is made only for life portraits of
Coffee server in gold plate over brass
first ladies and presidents.
by Susan Ewing.
The intent of this restriction in large
part is to allow judgments of quality to be
That decision was made by Mrs. Clinton
made with the distance of time. And, in
herself, according to associate White
relation to the field of craft, that question
House curator Betty Monkman. It appears
seems particularly relevant. For there are
to accede to the Preservation Committee's
many who view craft, at best, as a
restrictions while providing the artists
stepsister to the visual arts. "Crafts have
continuing exposure. Stock says the
been largely ignored by the mainstream
collection would remain on permanent
art world," says Elizabeth Broun, director
display, unless lent to a museum or even
of the National Museum of American Art.
the White House itself.
Indeed, the word artist is rarely applied to
Another option for the collection
craftspeople, who are more often called
presumably would have been to give it to
artisans.
the Renwick, where Monroe has worked
Broun finds this term "unintentionally
for 21 years. While Stock and Monroe
patronizing." And, she says, the boundaries
acknowledge there was some discussion
between craft and art are slowly
about the collection going to the Renwick,
"blurring."
neither explained why it wasn't selected.
Still, crafts are a deceptively democratic
Rather, Stock points out the unique
art form, and their ostensibly functional
character of such a collection in a
nature tends to cloud the fine line between
presidential library, the fact that it was
craft and art. After all, a basket or a vase
formed for the White House, and the First
or a teapot is presumably created for a
utilitarian function. Clearly, some of the
Lady's continuing desire to expose the
objects chosen for the White House are
artists to as broad a public as possible.
art. Interestingly, most of those that
Cooper notes that the objects were
transcend the line discourage use,
"kind of a gift to the nation. I kind of hoped
communicating their decorative rather
they would go to a national museum." It is
than functional nature in subtle ways. For
likely that the collection would get broad
example, Castle's clock rests on
exposure in a national museum in the
intertwined and unsteady legs that suggest
nation's capital.
it should not be expected to give us the
More than 100,000 people saw the
time even though it does. And the fluted
collection while it was displayed during
handles on Levi's jar are clearly too small
Christmas 1993. The craftspeople who
and fragile to be used.
made the objects were invited to a
The show, and Hillary Clinton's support,
reception then and saw their work at the
possibly give the artists a higher profile
White House. Neither metal worker
and more prestige than they have ever.
Albert Paley nor wood turner Philip
had. The collection has already achieved
Moulthrop recently had been notified that
what Stock describes as the First Lady's
their gift would not permanently reside in
goal, to "highlight the best of America" and
the White House. Yet neither seemed
bring visibility to their creators.
distressed when told of the circumstances
That same desire-to expose the artists
by a reporter. Instead, each was positive
May
1995.
The
Heart
Carp.
M
1
I
-
McMomers,
to the broadest possible public-is the
about the public acknowledgement paid to
Ceramic
Interiers by Cheryl Williams were used as centerpleces
impetus behind the decision to ultimately
craft by government. It was, Paley said,
for
While
House
house the collection in the Clinton
the "first attempt to bring awareness to
a
presidential library, according to Stock
the arts in this way," by the "government
21
recognizing one of its cultural resources"
from the glue, which Hutter colors using a
end the people who make it
technique developed for the electronic and
Mrs. Clinton is not the first First Lady
glass industries.
to bring crafts into the White House. Ellen
Ewing, from Ohio, is a generation
Wilson used rugs and bedspreads made in
younger than Castle. Her gold-plated brass
Tennessee and the Carolinas. Eleanor
coffee server has a severe geometric quality
Roosevelt had furniture for a bedroom
that explores the subject of the cylinder and
made through her own crafts project and
the cone with humor. 50090 notal visiting
textiles made under the auspices of the
The elegance and beauty of Moulthrop's
Wor
Tess Administration. Even
lathe-turned white pine mosaic bowl is
Ive focused on crafts in their
striking; he was asked specifically to
pry
ha
,2, Chester Arthur
donate this piece, he says. "It is one of my
aed a large stained-glass screen
distinctive ones that I'm doing." His
com
made by Louis Comfort Tiffany for the
complex and unique process produces a
wooden bowl with white pine suspended in
27, 1995
front hall.
black resin that shimmers and glows, the
As wife of the vice president, Joan
effect of a kaleidoscope of wood.
Mondale, herself a potter whose work is
Leon and Sharon Niehues of Huntsville,
represented in the collection assembled
Ark., are another multi-generational craft
under Mrs. Clinton, focused great visibility
family. This husband and wife team makes
on the field of crafts and brought the work
beautifully detailed baskets woven from
of many craft artists to the vice president's
white oak and enhanced by waxed linen
residence. "The line between art and craft
thread. Monroe describes their
is slowly dissolving." says Mondale, now in
asymmetrical basket as a "swelling form"
Tokyo where her husband, Walter, is
whose angled top gives an otherwise static
umbassador to Japan.
piece a "sense of life." The Niehueses are
But the objects have not always fared
essentially self-taught.
well through changing administrations.
The energy of the Niehueses' baskets is
Wilson's textiles have disappeared, either
in direct contrast to the elongated,
worn out or replaced, according to
classically inspired glass vase forms by
Monkman. Roosevelt's furniture is still in
Dante Marioni, of Seattle. The bright
he White House and used on occasion, but
yellow glass is a thoroughly modern touch.
he Tiffany screen was removed in 1902,
The current show will travel to at least
lismantled and sold at auction. Its
three additional locations, exposing the
vhereabouts are unknown, Monkman
vibrant work of the 77 artists to an even
ays, and it may have been destroyed by
wider public. And it will, as Monroe
ire. And much of what Joan Mondale
explains crafts should, "take us to an area
ssembled for the vice president's house is
we haven't been to before," where we can
n storage.
discover something "new about ourselves."
Mondale herself is one of the thousands
f craft artists enjoying the current
Heidi L Berry, a writer on art and antiques
enaissance of craft. Renwick curator
and a collector, contributes regularly to
Monroe dates this flowering to university
Washington Home.
lasses, which began after World War II,
nd be credits the role played by schools,
The White House Collection of A merican
auseums, collectors and the media.
Crafts runs through Sept. 4 at the National
Museum of American Art, 8th and G streets
Monroe estimates there were only a
NW. Free. For tour details, call 357-311L
handful" of craft fairs in the early 1970s.
Beginning April 28, a virtual tour of the
low, be cavs, there are "hundreds and
exhibit on the Internet can be reached through
und
World Wide Web by accessing the NMAA's
S not consider this entirely
Reprinted by permission from HOUSE BEAUTIFUL D May 1995 The Heart Corp All rights reserved Jeff McNamera,
M
home page at http://www.nmaa.si.edu
3 bh
Allection." Instead, he sought
of his material frozen at a moment in
Renald F. Fleming's
) gather pieces that would present the full
time."
redwood burl bowl,
ange of craft, from usable pieces to purely
When the exhibit ended in February,
"New Beginnings,"
ecorative or sculptural work. He included
1994, this bowl went to the upstairs
introduces an
stablished, mid-career and emerging
Center Hall, which the Clintons use as a
eclectic note to a
rtists. Castle, glass makers Dale Chihuly
private living room. Until it left the White
formal room la the
nd Harvey K. Littleton are in the first
House for this show, it sat on an
White House, above.
roup, while metal worker Susan R. Ewing
18th-century English octagonal desk. Also
Blown-glass "Imago"
nd ceramicist Mara Superior are in
there was a porcelain cocoa pot, complete
bag by John Littleten
ud-career. He wanted to demonstrate the
with its own pedestal, by Massachusetts
and Kate Voget, right
generational exchange" in the field, with
artist Mara Superior, which was placed on
rtists like Moulthrop, whose father,
a table in a corridor on the third floor. It is
dward, is also a craftsperson with a piece
painted with delicate designs derived from
I the collection, and to include artists who
embroidered samplers, and like many of
ere completely self-taught, such as
the objects in this collection, Superior's pot
imiture maker Sam Maloof, as well as
demonstrates a sense of humor. Its spout
lose who were highly schooled. In
tilts down, as if it is about to pour the cocoa
ddition, be wanted the collection to be
itself.
eographically and ethnically diverse and
The Clintons must also have admired
) include all craft media: clay, glass, wood,
the stunning cut-glass vase by another
ber and metal.
Massachusetts artist, Sidney R. Hutter.
His passion for the art form emerges as
His purely sculptural vase, an intriguing
: describes "a marriage between
mix of classical form and modern
aquisite technique and unusual vision."
technology, also went to the family
e points to a free-form bowl by Chihuly of
quarters after the exhibit. It is composed
cattle, among the best known of the
of a spiral of cut and polished clear glass
tists in the collection, as "alive in rigid
and gives off a hue that ranges from deep
m," demonstrating the "molten quality
purple to pale lavender. The shade comes
PHOTO BY JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR
RESTORATION
HB$9000000282
**MIXED STATES
MS ANN STOCK
05 ED81390
WHITE HOUSE
FZ
WASHINGTON 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE. N.W.
D.C 20500
The New White House Crafts Collection, Country-style Furniture
& Friendly Midwestern House, An Elegant Manhattan Apartment,
LSEE SLI IT
V
$2.50 9661
Command
O
performance
To mark the Year of American Craft,
over seventy leading artists donated their finest
works to the White House collection
.
Trendi Williams BOWN withher glowing Intertors is; goldwer used as (gente) pieces this austua III White dimien
White House collection pieces seenzomthe State No andumilie tamily quarters,
Dante Not: monts Downgliss Bawl PM vey attletons blown glass sculpture: Sha omand 301 Nichtles: liber
basket Dale Chindy Blown glassbowl Ronald Fleming's wood burl Bow If Randy Stromsoe Chf
Leespo celain peachive set Toots Zynsky multicol diglas ressell CBN THID avide Ells worth's wood grained Vasts
its
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93
This spring and summer, the public will be able to see these
objects at the National Museum of American Art in Washington
BY MARIAN BURROS
American crafts scene. "It mirrors what
from the classics, using precious metals.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF
is going on culturally," he said. "There is
With gold leaf, pewter, and silver he cre-
MeNAMARA
no one clear movement but a wide lati-
ated a bowl of elegant proportions that
PRODUCED BY DARA
tude and opportunity for expression. Old
makes a strong architectural statement.
CAPONIGRO
and new techniques link 20th-century
Drawing on a different classical tradition,
technology and traditional form. These
As guests were leaving the
Cliff Lee's beautifully articulated peach-
pieces are full of energy, a tour de force
shaped porcelain vase is related to his
White House after a state dinner last
of technical skill, a marriage of wonder-
Asian background.
year, one of them, Dale Chihuly, dressed
ful technique and wonderful vision."
The stoneware Prayer Bowls by
in a dinner jacket and his trademark
The médiums of glass, ceramics,
Cheryl Williams reflect a very different
paint-dripped sneakers, was spirited
metal, wood, and fiber are represented.
ceramic tradition. "Refined, elegant, and
upstairs to the family quarters for a
Among the most important is Chihuly's
precious," pronounced Monroe. "Out of
glimpse of his spectacular bowl. It is one
sculptured blown-glass bowl. "What's
fire, water, and mud emerges luminosity.
of 72 pieces of 20th-century American
exciting about Chihuly's work is his sense
The interior gold is a surprise, like break-
crafts that have been donated by artists to
of baroqueness," said Monroe. "He is a
ing open an egg."
the White House. The objects are dis-
master at capturing the power, fragility,
Looking at a. bowl made by Ron
played on a rotating basis in the Execu-
and fluidity of glass."
Fleming of a single burl of redwood,
tive Mansion's public and private spaces.
Harvey Littleton's three pieces of
Monroe said, "Technically it is spectacu-
In 1993 First Lady Hillary Rodham
elongated glass in blue with pale pink
lar, and it has an incredible vigor." In
Clinton began the collection to celebrate
cores are also in the family quarters.
contrast with Fleming's highly decorative
the Year of American Craft.
Other pieces like Mary Ann "Toots"
open form is the simple closed form of
Mrs. Clinton sees the contemporary
Zynsky's fused glass bowls are rotated on
master wood turner David Ellsworth's
collection as a continuation of the crafts
the state floors of the White House.
wooden vase; it lets the grain of the wood
the White House has been gathering for
Monroe likens her bowl to pieces of col-
speak for itself. "The vase is straightfor-
nearly 200 years. "Now crafts have
ored spaghetti. "It's as if she is painting
ward and direct," said Monroe, "the per-
moved into a different realm and it
an abstract expressionist work with big
fect meshing of form and material.
seemed we should bring the holdings up
brushstrokes," he said.
"There are a lot of these pieces I'd kill
to date," she said.
Among the artists represented at the
to have across the street," Monroe added,
For that the White House turned to
White House who use classical forms,
refering to the Renwick's location on
Michael W. Monroe, the curator of the
the glassblower Dante Marioni is known
Pennsylvania Avenue opposite the White
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian In-
for his electric colors. He contributed two
House. From April 28 through Septem-
titution's National Museum of Ameri-
pieces, including a shallow footed bowl
ber 4, the crafts objects will be on exhibi-
can Art in Washington, D.C. What he
in vivid yellow accented with black.
tion at the Smithsonian's National
chose represents the diversity of the
James Randy Stromsöe also borrows
Museum of American Art.
94
The Blue Room at the White House set for dinner guests, using pieces from the
permanent crafts collection. OPPOSITE: Details of this dinner, from the left, show the Cheryl Williams
bowls in use, the First Lady's place setting, elongated ceramic vases by Michael Sherrill: