Marquetry is decorative work in which amazing puzzle-like patterns are formed by intricately cut and shaped wood chips--or veneers--that are glued in place to ornament the surfaces of furniture and personal objects.
American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Woodis the first volume to record the history of marquetry and the American masters who handed down the tradition from father to son. Never before has American folk marquetry been investigated, cataloged, or recognized as a distinct body of work. Until recently, documentation had not been discovered, names of marquetry makers were unknown, and a collection of important work was not available for study. Richard Mühlberger, former director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, has written this beautifully illustrated volume after years of research and collaboration with collectors Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn.
Mühlberger traces history of marquetry from its earliest known examples in ancient Egypt through its high point in fifteenth-century Italy, where it was described as "painting in wood," and its popularity as conspicuous symbol of luxury at eighteenth-century Versailles to its arrival in the United States, where it gained a foothold at the start of the Guilded Age in 1865 and lasted, mostly as a hobby, for almost ninety years. The hours of labor necessary to ornament an object with marquetry were worth far more than anyone was willing to pay and, as a result, the gift of a piece of marquetry was priceless, representing a great investment of time and emotion. Mühlberger's chapters on the marquetry makers--the story of Frederick Stedman Hazen, whose unique secretary is decorated with 21,000 pieces of wood; tales of sailors' marquetry and prisoners' work; and the concept of marquetry as "male quilting"--are especially captivating.
Many of the pieces illustrated are included in the exhibition "Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from The Hirschhorn Foundation," organized by Richard Mühlberger as guest curator for the American Folk Art Museum.
In short, American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces In Wood by Richard Mühlberger is the first volume to record the history of marquetry and the American masters who handed down the tradition from father to son. Marquetry is decorative work in which amazing puzzle-like patterns are formed by intricately cut and shaped wood chips or veneers that are glued in place to ornament the surfaces of furniture and personal objects. Richard Mühlberger, former director of Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA, has written this beautifully illustrated volume after years of research and collaboration with collectors Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn. Mühlberger was a guest curator for the American Folk Art Museum. Printed in the U.S.A. Measures: 9 3/8" x 10 13/16" x 11/16". Hardcover; 242 pages.

American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Wood

Arts & Photography

Richard Mühlberger

History & Criticism

American Folk Art Museum

American Folk Art Museum 2002., Soft Cover- Pictorial Card Covers. First Edition. 0912161159

Painted Saws: Jacob Kass

Kogan, Lee

Kass, Jacob J.

Foiled , Tinsel Painting in America

Lee Kogan

Fashion has always found inspiration in unpredictable sources: art, life, history there are no boundaries. In this spirit, the American Folk Art Museum explores the relationship between inspiration and creation. Thirteen established and emerging designers have created original ensembles inspired by artwork in the museum's collection. This is the catalog for the exhibition Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art at the American Folk Art Museum, 2014. The exhibition catalog is sponsored by Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf and Elizabeth V. and Irwin H. Warren. By Alexis Carreño, with a foreword by Anne-Imelda Radice, PhD, and an introduction by Stacy C. Hollander. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. 96 pages, fully illustrated, softcover, 8 x 10 in.

Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art

Alexis Carreño

What is a self-taught genius? During the post-Revolutionary era in the newly formed United States this characterization took on profound dimensions that were pivotal to the development of a start-up nation conceived on an experimental model: all of the nation's citizens were self-taught Americans. Self-Taught Genius, comprising more than one hundred works of art from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, considers the changing implications of "self-taught" in the United States, from a deeply entrenched and widespread culture of self-education in the early national period to its usage today to describe artists working outside the art historical canon. The exhibition frames the continuum of American folk art through the concept of "self-taught" genius," an enduring term that, like the artworks themselves, has changed dramatically over time: the early American folk art we so admire today was made by the self-taught artists of the past. Art history has long been challenged by the role of self-taught artists. In the modern era these individuals, who defy our understanding of what is "normal," have yet managed establish lively artistic traditions and influence younger generations of artists. Self-taught artists are not perceived as threats to American cultural values but rather as guardians of those basic national values. Their art, past and present, blurs frontiers between disciplines, makes definitions look constricted, and forces us to reconsider our assumptions about authoritative systems.

Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum

Stacy C. Hollander

Valérie Rousseau

Most self-taught artists, including those who have shaped art environments and yard shows can be perceived as performance artists. Their work is infused with daily rituals, public actions, gestures, and enactments, defining a lifelong artistic practice for which the curtain never comes down. This volume documents and contextualizes the work of twenty-seven artists from around the world and active from the late nineteenth century to the present. Beyond paintings and sculpture, featured artworks include ceremonial clothes, kinetic apparatuses, ephemeral installations, writings, fragments of ever-changing constructions, and other statements that have been captured by photographers and filmmakers. The inventive devices and countless strategies these artists configure are expressions of an alter ego, which they assume for its power to transform the world and, above all, to transform their own connections to reality.
Historically, collectors and museums have prioritized artworks that are readily collectible and more conventional in their materials and techniques, like paintings, drawings and sculpture--an attitude that elucidates a direct relationship between conservation and recognition. When the Curtain Never Comes Down: Performance Art and the Alter Ego delves into an underside of self-taught art and art brut, opening a door to the study of the field's neglected facets. Under a new light, it considers these creations as interdisciplinary and within a continuous body of work rather than one-dimensional or strictly object-oriented.
Fully illustrated publication that accompanies the exhibition When the Curtain Never Comes Down and explores the daily rituals, public actions, and performance art by twenty-seven self-taught artists from around the world.
By Valérie Rousseau, PhD, with a foreword by Anne-Imelda Radice, PhD, and contributions from Mario del Curto, Beate Echols, Savine Faupin, Gustavo Giacosa, Stefan Hartmaier, Thomas J. Lax, Gianluigi Mangiapane, Martin Mangold, Judith McWillie, Viviane Morin, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Ricardo Resende, Thomas Röske, Lisa Spindler, and Michel Thévoz. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2015. 137 pages, hardcover, 8 1/4 x 10 1/2 in.

When the Curtain Never Comes Down: Performance Art and the Alter Ego

Art Brut in America: The Incursion of Jean Dubuffet traces the influence of Art Brut in the US through works from Dubuffet’s art brut collection. The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are organized around two seminal art-historical moments: the display of Dubuffet’s collection at the home of artist and collector Alfonso Ossorio in the 1950s, and Dubuffet’s provocative speech “Anticultural Positions” delivered at the Arts Club of Chicago in 1951. Including both little-known and canonical works--such as drawings, annotated manuscripts, letters, paintings, embroideries and sculptures--created by 38 artists, including Aloïse Corbaz, Heinrich Anton Müller, Francis Palanc, Jeanne Tripier and Adolf Wölfli, as well as artworks by anonymous artists and children, this volume points to the influence of Art Brut on the burgeoning American style of Abstract Expressionism, as well as on individual artists and collectors.

Art Brut in America: The Incursion of Jean Dubuffet (AMERICAN FOLK A)

Rousseau, Valérie

DUBUFFET, Jean

Shaw, Jim

Lombardi, Sarah

Minturn, Kent

Enigmatic, evocative, and often simply strange, the iconic art and objects showcased in Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection relate the beauty of fraternal teachings through a potent combination of highly charged imagery, esoteric forms, and symbolic meaning. The exhibition and fully illustrated publication explore the fascinating visual landscape of fraternal culture through almost two hundred works of art from the late eighteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, comprising a major gift to the museum from Kendra and Allan Daniel. By Stacy C. Hollander and Aimee E. Newell; Foreword by Anne-Imelda Radice; Collector's statement by Allan Daniel. Principal photography by José Andrés Ramírez. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2016. 240 pages, 8 1/4 x 10 inches.

Mystery and Benevolence: Masonic and Odd Fellows Folk Art from the Kendra and Allan Daniel Collection

Aimee E. Newell

Humanity demands that no life should pass without some recognition, whether it is a marked grave, a painted posthumous portrait, or a postmortem photograph. This is the catalog for the homonymous exhibition: Securing the Shadow: Posthumous Portraiture in America, the first major museum exhibition dedicated to an examination of American self-taught portraiture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the lens of memory and loss.
Features a foreword by Anne-Imelda Radice, Executive Director of the American Folk Art Museum, and two curatorial essays by Stacy C. Hollander, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Chief Curator, and Director of Exhibitions at the American Folk Art Museum; and Gary Laderman, Goodrich C. White Professor of Religion at Emory University. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2016. Softcover with full flaps; one foldout page. 238 pages, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches.

Securing the Shadow: Posthumous Portraiture in America

Gary Laderman

Fables and fairy tales featuring dynamic animal characters have captured the imaginations of children and adults around the world for thousands of years. Tales are often handed down from generation to generation because of their compelling story lines and the wisdom they offer. Fables relate to our lives, no matter who we are or where we live. Kalila wa Dimna (Kalila and Dimna) is a collection of animal fables that centers around the jackals Kalila and Dimna, who are also brothers. The story cycle originated in India more than two thousand years ago and circulated widely in the Near East. It is considered one of the most popular collections of stories ever written. Three of the stories have been adapted in this book; they are tales about resourcefulness, jealousy, and friendship.

Fables across Time: Kalila and Dimna

Children's Books

Dr. Sabiha Al Khemir

Literature & Fiction

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