Katherine
Wetfphal
Aileen Osborn JVebb
A w ard for Philanthropy
P aul J . Smiîh
Through an illustrious career
as a curator, lecturer and juror,
Paul J. Smith has advanced
appreciation of contemporary
crafts since joining the staff
of the American Craftsmen’s
Council in 1957. Appointed
director of the organization’s
Museum of Contemporary
Crafts (now the Museum of
Arts and Design and no longer
affiliated with the Council) in
1963, Smith initiated innovative
exhibitions in a remarkable
range of topics and media. For
the museum’s 1986 new facility
opening, he curated “
c r a f t
T O D A Y : Poetry of the Physi-
cal,” which toured internation-
ally. Retiring in 1987 and named
director emeritus, Smith devel-
oped a consulting service. He
is now organizing the M CC ex-
hibition files for the ACC Library
and serving on the boards of the
Louis Comfort Tiffany and Le-
nore G. Tawney foundations.
Smith holds an honorary doctor-
ate from Parsons design school
and is an
a c c
Honorary Fellow.
A playful pioneer of art quilts
and a leader of new technology
for surface design—especially
known for her early use of the
color photocopier—Katherine
Westphal (b. 1919) also pro-
moted craft wearables, collaged
and printed, of cloth or paper.
She was an energetic teacher
at the University of California,
Davis, who made an art appre-
ciation class the place to be,
attracting hundreds of students.
She retired, emerita, in 1979.
For the often-repetitive imagery
in her work, she has drawn
upon travels with her husband,
Ed Rossbach, and other aspects
of her life. “Anything I see or
experience can pop out in my
work, the connection being
most often intuitive,” she said,
and spoke of it being mixed
in the “eggbeater” of her mind.
Holding her BA and M A from
the University of California,
Berkeley, Westphal has also
created jewelry, books, bas-
kets, drawings, paintings,
embroideries and ceramics.
dec/jan 10 american craft 053
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