Evening star., 1922-12-07
American Decorative
Arts

Attention has recently been focused
| on American decorative arts by gift
to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of
approximately 100000 in value by
| Mr.. and Mrs. Robert w. de Forest for
new wing to be added to the mu-
| scum for the purpose of housing for
display the early arts of America.
The wing. the erection of which has
| already been begun, will be three
stories in height, and will contain
eighteen exhibition rooms, one large
gallery on each floor opening on three
sides into smaller galleries. It will
adjoin the Morgan wing in which are
now displayed the decorative arts OF
European countries. and will become
the north side Of a quadrangle on the
south of which will probably be in
| corporated the Wentworth Gardner
house from Portsmouth. n. H., pur-
chased some years ago by the mu-
scum when it was about to be de-
stroyed. The east and west sides OF
this quadrangle. which will inclose a
COLONIAL garden. will be formed by
tone-story connecting corridors aga IN 81
( whose walls will be set colonial door
ways.
| On one floor of this building will be
| exhibited woodwork and furniture OF
| the early seventeenth and eighteenth
! centuries. the central gallery showing
the earliest furniture made in Amer
Il;
be two rooms and a small stair-hall
| which will reproduce interiors typical
of the seventeenth century New Eng
land house, furnished with appropri-
ate articles of furniture and other ac-
i cessories.
| Another floor will be devoted 10
woodwork and furniture Of tho eight
eenth century, exemplifying the finer
more sophisticated types of the pre-
evolutionary period - principally
Chippendale.
| third floor will he devoted to
post st-Chippendale furniture with in
! terror woodwork from rooms of the
period in Massachusetts. Pennsylva.
MIA, Maryland and Virginia Thus, as
! the curator of decorative arts of the
Metropolitan Museum has said. the
complete route through the building
| Will follow the whole growth of IT'LL
| tartan and decorative art as well rs
that of interior architecture from the
earliest colonial times we'll into those
of the early republic.
| x X
| The thing which makes this gift and
proposed addition to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art of striking interest
;however. is the fact that those who
ARE foremost judges of art and who
have made a special study of the art
of all countries are of the opinion
! that the early American decorative
!!arts are not only worthy of preserva-
ton. but of permanent association in
a great museums collection with the
decorative arts of the leading coun-
tries of the world. The reason for
i this is that the art of the early set
/ tiers in America and the builders of
; our republic was simple and sincere,
expressive of a taste both cultured
and refined. AS has been truly said
our early craftsmen were not origi-
nators but followers of the styles of
! the countries from which they came
I-England. Holland and France-but
tHe KIM OF OeH1dHuS put tneTl
were the determining factors Of the
quality of their production. Hence. in
; our early decorative arts we find not
only good design. but appropriateness
| to use. simplicity and excellent work
manship. These are the qualities
! which made for works of art of en-
during worth, and they are qualities,
F.. alas. which from 1860 to at least 1900
| were almost totally lacking in our
ihome-produced articles of utility.
whether machine or hand made.
! 1t was in 1860 or thereabouts that
| that wax flowers under glass bell
was the much coveted parior orna-
ment and that grace of line in furni-
ture gave way to weight in wood and
| that snowy ugliness seemed TO re-
place logical beauty. In that dark
f; era doubtless many fine pieces of fur
niture of colonial workmanship We're
| sacrificed through lack Of apprecia-
F.; ton. for the fact is that only in COM
paratively recent years, despite the
!! the real merit of the early decorative
arts of America come to be under
stood.
| Primarily for historical reason in
! 1907 the Essex Institute of Salem.
Mass, assembled certain exhibits in
! In 1904 the Rhode Island School of
| Design. at Providence. received as a
| gift Pendleton House. private resi-
; dence of colonial design. completely
! furnished as in the period of its erec-
i tion. a typical home of the days fol-
/ lowing the American revolution.
! 1t was not until 1909, however. that
| American decorative arts found their
way into the Metropolitan Museum,
and it was then only in connection
with the Hudson Fulton celebration
! that they made their entrance. Rob-
ert w. de Forest. president of the
! METROPOLITAN Museum of Art. and
also president of the American Fed
! Grafton of Arts. was chairman of the
art committee for the celebration. and
under his initiative q notable collec-
4; ton of furniture of the HudsonF
| ton period was brought together at
the Metropolitan Museum.
| This in turn lead to the gift of the
| Bolles collection of early American
| presented to the museum. a gift the
value of which at the time was little
appreciated, but which has terminal
/ ed in the presentation by the de For
| ests of the building to be dedicated
Ito the preservation Of the American
j decorative arts.
; Quite recently in Washington Gas
recently as last month) there was
shown in the National Gallery, Ma
/. tional Museum, a collection of Ameri-
can handicrafts. the work Of cotem-