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Wharton Esherick:
The Journey of a
Creative Mind
By Mansfield Bascom
Abrams, $ Mo
abramsbooks.com
WHARTON ESHERICK NEEDS
little introduction in the world
of American craft, so it may
come as some surprise that the
first monograph of his life and
work is coming out only now,
a scant two years before the
i25'h
anniversary of his birth.
For the uninitiated, Esherick’s
sculptural furniture inspired a
generation of studio furniture
makers, including Sam Maloof
and Wendell Castle. Less
known are his woodcuts, sculp-
ture and, from early in his ca-
reer, painting in a late-impres-
sionist style.
Within these pages, the arc
of his creative life unfolds. We
see how Esherick develops as a
person and an artist through
friendships forged (with novel-
ist and playwright Sherwood
Anderson and fellow artist-
craftsman-designer Henry
Varnum Poor, among others),
involvement in eurhythmic
dance and theater, the creation
Below: With an abun-
dance of narrative detail
and large color images,
Wharton Esherick: The
Journey o f a Creative
M ind
is a vivid portrait
of the master craftsman’s
life and work.
of a studio (today a museum)
and a march of commissions
that delivered him through the
Great Depression’s lean years
to triumph as the “spiritual
father” of the postwar studio
furniture movement.
Author Mansfield Bascom,
long married to Esherick’s
daughter Ruth and a chief insti-
gator of the Wharton Esherick
Museum near Philadelphia,
spent many years fine-tuning
his much-anticipated manu-
script.The result is a generous
and highly readable narrative
that is full of anecdotal detail
that could only come from one
so closely connected. While
some scholars (this one includ-
ed) may lament the omission of
footnotes, the inclusion of a
helpful chronology, index and
no fewer than 250 color illustra-
tions in this large-format book
help to justify its hefty price tag.
-CAROLINE HANNAH
Caroline Hannah is a design
historian living in New Tirk.
NC/Charlotte
Mint Museum Uptown
Contemporary British
Studio Ceramics
to Mar. 13
mintmuseum.org
Focused on Diane and Marc
Grainer’s collection, this is the
first comprehensive survey of
contemporary British studio
ceramics in the United States.
NE / Lincoln
Sheldon Museum of Art
New Material World:
Rethreading Technology
to Jan. 2
sheldonartmuseum.org
Ten contemporary artists who
are using new material and
manipulating old material in
new ways through use or
rejection of technology.
Newark Museum
Gustav Stickley and the American
Arts & Crafts Movement
to Jan. 2
newarkmuseum.org
Organized by the Dallas Mu-
seum of Art and premiering at
Newark, this exhibition focuses
on the tastemaker and manufac-
turer, with emphasis on 1910 to
1913, his most productive period
(above).
NM /Santa Fe
New Mexico Museum of Art
Case Studies from the Bureau of
Contemporary Art
to Mar. 20
nmartmuscum.org
Ceramics, paintings, drawings,
photography, sculpture and
video on contemporary themes.
012 american craft dec/jann
Rook photos Mark LaFavor (2) / Stickley chair photo Brad Flowers, courtesy o f Dallas Museum of Art
