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In 1897, Arts & Crafts Societies were founded in Rochester, NY and
Chicago. That year also saw the first Arts & Crafts Exhibition, in
Boston. The success of the Exhibition and the press coverage of the
manufacturers and designs inspired the formation of still more craftsman
guilds and societies the next year. 1898 also heralded the founding of
Gustav Stickley & Co., in Syracuse, NY, Charles Rohlfs furniture
company in Buffalo, NY, and Henry Chapman Mercer's Moravian Pottery, in
Doylestown, PA. All three companies were to become major players in the
years to come, but it was the simple, geometric designs of Gustav Stickley
that truly defined the American A&C Movement in the early 20th
century.
Stickley was an ambitious man and a firm believer in the Movement's
ideals. Not only did he design furniture, but homes as well. To showcase
his designs he began publishing his own monthly guide to better living.
When Stickley began publication of Craftsman magazine in 1901, he
had a complete vision of the perfect Arts & Crafts world. Each month, Craftsman
would feature furniture and architectural plans for the ideal craftsman
life. The magazine not only influenced the public at large, but
the design world as well. It is no coincidence that the years 1901-1916
are often referred to as the Craftsman Movement for Craftsman magazine
was the chief spokesman for a generation of designers who followed the
ideas of Stickley.
Like William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright, both of whom stressed the need
for furnishings to fit the homes they were in, Stickley designed homes to
fit the furniture he created. Simple "Craftsman-style" homes --
often no more than a few spacious rooms whose only ornamentation consisted
of beautiful natural woodwork and room dividers along with a stone or
brick hearth. An abundance of windows to let in natural light was also
important since sunlight cast an entirely different light than gas and
electric lights. "We have planned houses from the first that are
based on the big fundamental principles of honesty, simplicity, and
usefulness..." wrote Stickey in his Craftsman Homes.
These fundamental principles permeated all aspects of the Arts &
Crafts Movement in America, from housing to furnishings down to a simple,
unadorned terra cotta vase. Designers frowned upon the thoughtless
collection and display of objects that were not useful or connected to
their environment. And, after the excess of the Victorian Age, in which
people crammed all manner of bric-a-brac and furnishings into their houses
regardless of its style, this new "manual on living" was a
breath of fresh air.
The Movement was also in step with the large-scale shift in the American
standard of living. As cities thrived, life on the farm gave way to life
in the suburbs. The idea of homeownership became the American dream, and
the Craftsman dream was to build these homes and furnish them with objects
that reflected the rural country life that fewer and fewer people
experienced.
It would be naive to believe that all of the artisans, craftsmen and
designers of this time were true A&C reformists. Even the ones who
preached the need to return to simplicity most fervently took advantage of
society's desire to consume. And, while it's inviting to think that
Stickley and his contemporaries achieved the Utopian life of harmony, they
tended to be anything but that. Rivalry and competition was as common then
as now and their biting words were as likely to appear in the many Arts
& Crafts publications as much as their advertisements.
Despite this less wholesome side of the Movement, the general mood of the
times was positive. As in contemporary times, the big-name designers like
Stickley, Wright and Hubbard set the trends and others followed. Originals
by top designers were expensive, but there were plenty of affordable
mass-produced pieces that allowed everyone to own a piece of the
lifestyle. Sears Robuck & Co. sold its own popular version of the
Morris chair, and its kit homes in bungalow and foursquare style could be
found all across America. By 1915, though, the media was tired of the
style and actively searching the the next great design trend. In addition,
the social changes brought on by America's gearing up for, and eventual
entry into, World War One served to wake America up from its cocooning,
hearth-and-home dream.
The death of Roycroft founder Elbert Hubbard, who drown when the Germans
sank the Lusitania in 1915, foreshadowed the death of the American Arts
& Crafts Movement. Like a sinking ship, the A&C era was slowly,
inevitably going under. Wright's studio was busy defining a new style of
architecture (Prairie Style) based on the flat Midwestern landscape, and
artists were again taking their cue from Europe, which was moving on to
Modernism. Even Stickley was forced to jump ship; he published last
edition of Craftsman in 1916 and was forced to declare bankruptcy
in 1917.
Although there are many ending dates for the Arts & Crafts Movement,
ranging from 1916 to 1920 and even up to 1929, it is safe to say that the
period had effectively ended by 1916, and its popularity had dramatically
declined by 1919. However, its design effects were still felt for some
time and homes continued to be built in the style for a good decade,
though they were usually modified. Whichever date one chooses to put on
the end of the era, the influence of the American Arts & Crafts
Movement cannot be overlooked. And its idealism, beauty and simplicity
have a ring of truth that is as inspiring today as 100 years ago.
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