After three decades of Arts and Crafts exhibitions that have surveyed the entire movement or focused on its many regional manifestations, Gustav Stickley, the movement's central figure in the US, now receives his due. This exhibition catalogue, redolent with stunning color photographs of 100-plus selected Stickley pieces, draws its intellectual credibility from essays by six leading scholars of the Arts and Crafts movement: Tucker, Brandt, David Cathers, Joseph Cunningham, Beth Ann Macpherson, and Tommy MacPherson. They examine the cultural and economic circumstances of Stickley's emergence around 1900, the formulation of his business strategies and ideals, the role of Irene Sargent and The Craftsman magazine, the paradoxical nature of the craftsman home, and Stickley's own two homes. Stickley is a large subject, but this catalogue captures the essence of the man and his work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; general readers. General Readers; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by J. Quinan.

Examines the goals of the Arts and Crafts movement

This volume focuses on the decorative arts of a period that has only recently begun to receive serious attention from museums and collectors. It starts with the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 and continues to America's entry into World War 1 in 1916. In his introduction, Robert Judson Clark defines the Arts and Crafts movement in this country and describes its stylistic periods; he also discusses the European precedents, parallels, and influences. A study of the movement in Chicago and the Midwest is contributed by David Hanks, Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts, The Art Institute of Chicago. Professor Martin Eidelberg, Department of Art, Rutgers University, writes about American art pottery.