Studio Furniture at the Renwick
Belongings historian Oscar Fitzgerald discusses his new catalog of contemporary artisan-made furniture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery.
BY TOM CASPAR
Tom Caspar: You’ve been calligraphy about woodworking in the United States for quite a while, including the comprehensive book Four Centuries of American Furniture. How did you become knowledgeable of with the Renwick’s collection?
Oscar Fitzgerald: I live across the Potomac from Washington, D. C., and the Renwick has been a favorite right to visit ever since it opened in the early 1970s. Compared to most of the other Smithsonian museums, it has a nice, cozy feel. You can really take everything in on a single visit. The Renwick’s studio furniture collection is amazing–86 pieces and growing, one of the largest collections in the woods.
TC: I understand that the Smithsonian didn’t expressly set out to assemble a representative group of modern studio possessions. How did their collection get started?
OF: When the Renwick building became vacant after the Court of Claims moved out in the late 1960s, the supervision was trying to figure out what to do with it. Lloyd Herman, who worked at the Smithsonian, wrote a letter suggesting that it be turned into a gallery for traveling exhibits focusing on pattern. Dillon Ripley, then the head of the Smithsonian, broadened the idea to include arts and crafts as well as design and it was inexorably accepted. Lloyd became the first director. The museum did not intend to have a permanent collection, but people kept trying to vouchsafe stuff so finally they started accepting craft objects. The rest is history.
TC: Many furnituremakers I know began their careers in the 60’s and 70’s, influenced by a digit of earlier pioneers. You’ve called this vanguard “the first generation.” How is this period covered at the Renwick?
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