Byrdcliffe:

An American Arts and Crafts Colony

The American Arts and Crafts Movement

The American Arts and Crafts Movement began in the 1870s as a way for American Craftsmen to separate their own creativity and individualism from the Industrial Revolution. 

The Industrial Revolution was based on the division of labor.  While this idea was good for businesses’ bottom line, it robbed workers of the satisfaction of seeing their work through from beginning to end.  To help reconnect workers with their products, William Morris and other artists across Europe banded together to start the British Arts and Crafts Movement.  These craftsmen began producing new objects that conveyed the principles of quality and simplicity.  The movement spread throughout Europe with each country developing their own unique styles.

It did not take long for this concept to reach the United States and for the American Arts and Crafts Movement to begin.  American artists pulled ideas and designs from France, Germany, Austria, England, as well as the Shaker religious order.  This mixture of vastly different styles led to innovative designs and techniques.  While many of the early craftsmen followed the English ideals, Americans as a whole embraced the machines of the Industrial Revolution and used them in the production of Arts and Crafts furniture and accessories.  The use of the machines allowed more consumers access to the Arts and Crafts lifestyle, which in turn spurred more interest, a higher demand and more innovative design.

There were many American craftsmen who followed the English ideals, but the most successful and popular designers were the ones who combined old-fashioned handicraft with the latest production techniques and design theories.

(Sources: Byrdcliffe exhibition catalogue, www.woodstockguild.org, www.craftsmenperspective.com, www.winterthur.org)

Local support for this exhibition is provided by Omni Development Company, Inc.  and  M.M. Hayes Co., Inc.

The exhibition and catalogue were organized by the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University and are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York State Council on the Humanities, the Luce Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts and Furthermore: a program of The J. M. Kaplan Fund. 
* Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the exhibition, publications, and programming do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information on the exhibition, visit www.museum.cornell.edu/byrdcliffe/

For more information on The Woodstock Guild and The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, visit www.woodstockguild.org