exhibits / events

• Frank Lloyd Wright gallery opening

  

  It's a bit off the beaten path, but if you find yourself anywhere near Racine, WI (just a bit south of Milwaukee) you could not do better than to stop at the SC Johnson headquarters, where a new gallery devoted to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright is opening this week. The initial offering – a broad meditation on Wright's most popular Prairie-style work – will run for a year, to be followed by other exhibits focusing on various aspects of the architect and designer's work.

  Several buildings at the SC Johnson campus are Wright creations, so you'll want to schedule a tour to see those as well.

• 4th Annual Arts & Crafts Chicago show & sale

  Just got this press release in my inbox. If any of you go, please send me photographs! And remember, the Frank Lloyd Wright home & studio is in River Forest, too, so you could easily make a nice weekend out of this:

  The 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Chicago Show and Sale is coming back to
  Concordia University in River Forest on Saturday, May 30th and Sunday,
  May 31st 2009. Focusing on mission furniture and accessories of the
  American Arts and Crafts Movement (approximately 1890-1920), this show
  will truly be one you won’t want to miss. You’ll find 20th Century
  Decorative Arts including furniture, metalwork, pottery, textiles, art
  and lighting; everything from Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Rookwood and
  much more. Over 50 of the nations leading dealers will be on hand to
  answer questions and advise on how to decorate your home. This
  specialized event has proven to be one of the premiere antique and
  contemporary shows in the Midwest.

  Dealers attending this year’s show are coming from all across the
  country. We have dealers from Massachusetts, New York, California,
  Texas as well as the best dealers from the Midwest. JMW and Crones
  Collectibles from Massachusetts will be featuring high-end pottery from
  the Northeast such as Grueby, Saturday Evening Girls and Marblehead, as
  well as furniture and accessories. Jack Papadinis Antiques,
  Connecticut, will be showcasing some of the premiere lighting in the
  country and David Surgan from New York will offer the best Heintz
  Collection for sale in the country. Paramour Fine Arts, which
  specializes in arts and crafts era woodblocks and art, will be on hand
  showcasing some fabulous artwork from the era. Local dealers such as
  John Toomey Gallery will be exhibiting as well, highlighting Midwest
  artists such as Frank Lloyd Wright, TECO and Jarvie.

  Not only is this an antique show, but the weekend will showcase the
  highest quality contemporary craftsfirms as well. Ephraim Faience
  Pottery, Door Pottery, Arts and Crafts Hardware and Dard Hunter Studios
  will be in attendance, just to name a few.

  With the success of the show over the last three years and with the
  rich tradition of bungalows, as well as the Prairie School heritage of
  Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago has proven to be a perfect fit for this
  specialized show.

  Homeowners interested in educating themselves as to the appropriate
  furnishings for their turn of the century bungalows and craftsman style
  homes shouldn’t miss the 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Chicago Show and
  Sale, Saturday May 30th, 2009, from 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday May 31st
  from 11 am – 4 pm at Concordia University at Geiseman Gym in River
  Forest, Illinois. Admission price is only $7 each. Free parking on site
  in a 5-level garage. No parking on Monroe.

• Live Auctioneers has plenty of treats

  
  Live Auctioneers are a gateway / aggregator to hundreds of live (and non-live) antique auctions. Among the thousands of items viewable and biddable, there are hundreds of terrific items of interest to Arts & Crafts aficionados. Here are a few of my favorites from upcoming auctions:

  • wrought iron umbrella stand – or enormous vase
  • a very pretty unsigned mantel clock with green slag glass side panels
  • Roycroft "American Beauty" hammered copper vase
  • interesting Mexican Campeche chair, based on a William Spratling design
  • two 1904 New Haven Clock Co. mantel/shelf clocks
  • a lot of three simple pieces of A&C pottery: one unsigned, one Bauer, one Zanesville
  • unsigned A&C nightstand
  • somewhat ornate English A&C mahogany hallstand
  • gorgeous Wahliss nouveau vase
  • simple & austere Gus Stickley four-drawer server
  • a set including Roycroft brass-washed candlesticks, and a Heintz sterling-on-bronze vase and ashtray
• 17th annual Pasadena Craftsman weekend, October 17-19

  Jenny Strauss at Style 1900 passes on this press release on the coming weekend’s home tour in Pasadena:

  Pasadena Heritage presents its 17th Annual Craftsman Weekend on October 17-19, 2008. The event is the largest and most comprehensive celebration of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the Western United States.

  The signature event of the Weekend is the Craftsman House Tour. This in-depth, drive-yourself tour allows guests the opportunity to experience the rich variety of Craftsman architecture that makes Pasadena a destination for Arts and Crafts enthusiasts from across the country. Experienced docents will provide detailed histories of each of the six featured homes while guests examine the natural materials, fine craftsmanship, and exquisite detailing that exemplify the Craftsman era.

  On this year’s tour, we are pleased to feature two homes designed by Sylvanus Marston, one of Pasadena’s most prominent architects. Near the banks of the Arroyo, the Bishop House of 1911 beautifully demonstrates the heightened elegance of Marston’s Craftsman designs, especially in its spacious wood-paneled living room. The home was commissioned by Maitland L. Bishop, who moved to Pasadena in 1909 to recover from tuberculosis and was famous as the city’s oldest practicing lawyer at the age of eighty-seven.

  Designed in 1912, the Marston-designed Lacey House in North Pasadena will also be open for visits this year. This low-slung bungalow beautifully harmonizes with its surroundings, and has been described as the "quintessential Arts & Crafts ideal". The home features a massive boulder foundation that was likely gathered from nearby Eaton Canyon. The interior includes a striking barrel-vaulted ceiling, a bird-motif Batchelder fireplace, a billiard room, and beautiful leaded glass built-ins.

  The Clark House, a Pasadena Historic Landmark designed by Frederick Louis Roehrig, is celebrating its centenary this year. The house, which is located in the architecturally rich Madison Heights neighborhood, is designed with a Swiss Chalet influence, and features an unusual side entry. The beautiful interior is centered on a prominent brick fireplace with an inglenook likely inspired by Roehrig’s travels in England. In honor of its anniversary, the home has received an Arts & Crafts appropriate kitchen remodel.

  In celebration of the significant Greene & Greene anniversary and events of 2008, this year’s tour will include two properties by the architects that have rarely been open to the public: the Edgar Camp House and the Wild Wood Cottages. The Camp House, a true mountain bungalow in Sierra Madre, was designed in 1904 by the Greene Brothers, with Henry Greene returning in the early 1920s to add a second story. The expansive, rustic living room of the home holds many similarities to that of the now demolished Bandini House from 1903, part of which will be recreated in the Greene & Greene exhibition at the Huntington.

  Originally simple structures for a dairy farm, the cottages of Wild Wood were remodeled in the Craftsman style by Henry Greene in 1922-24, and were only discovered to be the work of the architect within the last ten years. These cabins have been described as "one of the most intriguing design projects undertaken by Henry in the early 1920s," and the secluded, idyllic property of Wild Wood also includes an unusual boulder amphitheatre that may also be the work of Greene. Join Pasadena’s tour to learn more about the fascinating history of this special compound.

  The Craftsman House Tour will take place on Sunday, October 19 from 9 am – 4 pm. Tickets for this event are $45 and include entrance to the Furnishings and Decorative Arts Show & Sale at the Masonic Temple on Saturday, October 18 from 9 am – 5 pm, and Sunday, October 19 from 10:00 am – 5:30 pm. For tickets and information please call Pasadena Heritage at 626-441-6333 or visit us online at pasadenaheritage.org.

• September 2008 events

  Jennifer Strauss at Style 1900 reminds us that we have two terrific fairs this month:

  • the 11th annual Historic Seattle Bungalow Fair, on September 27 & 28 at Town Hall Seattle, and
  • the Fine Furnishings & Craft Fair on September 27 & 28 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Chicago Arts & Crafts Show, May 17 & 18

  Longtime reader David Ford of Ford Craftsman Studios reminds us of the upcoming third annual Chicago Arts & Crafts Show, this coming weekend – May 17 and 18. Dozens of dealers will be present at the show, which is held at Concordia University in River Forest. Two workshops – one on stenciling and the other entitled "Light and Color: The Essentials of the Craftsman Home" will be offered for a small fee; admission to the show itself is $7.

• events this month

  • now through August 10: Gustav Stickley: The Enlightened Home – Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown NY.
  • May 10: 7th Annual Home & Garden Tour, Los Altos CA – $40 per person to tour many of the area’s most historically important and aesthetically impressive Arts & Crafts era homes. Like everything else in Los Altos, it’s overpriced, but the houses should be impressive.
  • May 17: Wright Plus Housewalk – get a rare look at interiors of several private homes designed by FLW at this 34th annual benefit event.
  • May 17 & 18: 10th Annual Colorado Arts & Crafts Society Show & Sale – exhibitors will show off antiques and contemporary furniture, textiles, metal and ceramic work. Golden, Colorado; $10 per person.
  • May 17 & 18: Portland Bungalow Show – vendors, lectures, demonstrations (including one on window repair). Portland, OR; $7 per person, extra charge for lectures.
  • May 18: Museums of the Arroyo Day – free admission to the Gamble House, Lummis House, Southwest Museum of the American Indian, Heritage Square Museum, and more; Pasadena, CA.
• Gustav Stickley exhibit opening in Cooperstown tomorrow

  Cooperstown‘s Fenimore Art Museum will open their long-planned Gustav Stickley: The Enlightened Home exihibit tomorrow, April 1 2008. The large exhibit – including more than 40 Stickley-made items – will run through August 10. The items, which include furniture and a wide range of decorative items, were drawn from numerous sources including the Stickley Museum in Fayetteville NY, Dalton’s in Syracuse, the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in New Jersey and several private collections.

• historic homes show in San Diego this weekend

  
  This Sunday, March 15 2008, SOHO (Save Our Heritage Organization) will lead an historic home tour through five spectacular houses in the Mission Hills area. Two Craftsmans, two Spanish Colonial Revivals, and a Pueblo Revival home will be featured, with more than enough time for architecture buffs to pore over the myriad architectural details in each.

  Additional related events on Saturday and Sunday morning include guided tours of Fort Rosecrans, classic tile of the region, 30 classic apartment bungalow courts and a special gift shop aimed at "armchair architectural critics" and others outside the Whaley House in Old Town.

  According to the Union-Tribune, some of the details in the featured homes are really exemplary, such as the hand-tooled copper fireplace hood at the 1912 McMurtrie / Witherow House on Ampudia Street.

  This annual event is a major fundraiser for San Diego’s premiere historic preservation organization, and the price is well worth it; the tours are extensive and led by local experts, and I’d say it’d be worth a drive or train trip even from LA to attend at least one or two of these events.

• Frank Lloyd Wright house tours in Oak Park

  
  This Old House‘s terrific Hardware Aisle blog is always full of good stuff – tool and material reviews, pointers to new techniques, and last week an article on Frank Lloyd Wright house tours. Read the whole article on their site:

  Why does it captivate us to walk through the homes where legends lived or worked?

  It started with Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, then Ricky Schroder’s sweet living room on "Silver Spoons," and later the suggestive banister at Sigmund Freud’s pad.

  Come May 17, 2008 architecture devotees will flock to Oak Park, Illinois,
  which is base camp to explore a cluster of homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
  and his contemporaries.

  The homes range from a Civil War-era Italianate
  built around 1860 to the Harry S. Adams House (pictured) built in 1913-14.