New
York University-SCPS Travels to Museums of America
Dishing
It Up!
Twentieth-Century Tableware in the Collection of the Kirkland Museum, Denver, CO
Tomorrow’s
Classic Dinnerware,
1949, designed by Eva Zeisel (Hungarian-American, b. 1906); (Hall
China Co., E. Liverpool, OH). Courtesy, Kirkland Museum.
This,
the first in a series of limited-enrollment courses, showcases a comprehensive,
specialized collection in one of America’s fine regional museums: the Kirkland
Museum in Denver. The Great Depression struck a mighty blow at formal dining,
ushering in an era of casual entertaining at home. With little price support and
fewer buyers for their goods, American dinner-and-glassware manufacturers were
forced to adopt new product designs and aggressive marketing strategies to
survive and then thrive after World War II. With access to the extensive,
on-display collection at the Kirkland Museum, this course focuses on the
innovative, stylish and often inexpensive tableware produced from the 20s to the
60s--much sought after by collectors today--and the aesthetic, cultural,
economic, and social milieux in which it was produced, acquired and used.
We explore artistic influences from the Jazz Age to the Space Age, key figures
such as Russel Wright, Frederick Hurten Rhead (designer of Fiesta and
Harlequin ware), and Eva Zeisel; design icons such as Viktor
Schreckengost’s Jazz Bowl and Reuben Haley’s cubist-inspired Ruba
Rombic; and the products of significant manufacturers such as Homer
Laughlin, Hall China, Red Wing, Fostoria, Heisey, Vernon Kilns and Metlox. On
Friday evening, enjoy a special treat as we dine on Russel Wright, Eva Zeisel,
and Ben Seibel tableware at the home of the museum’s director and curator.
Attendees are responsible for travel, accommodations and all other
meals.
Kirkland
Museum, partly housed in a carefully preserved Arts & Crafts building dating
from 1910-11, has only been open to the public since 2003. The Museum
displays more than 200 lines and patterns of tableware, including glassware,
with over 1700 individual pieces. Styles of tableware include Traditional,
Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Wiener Werkstätte, Bauhaus, and Pop Art with an
emphasis on Art Deco and Modern.
“There
is precious little opportunity to see scholarly installations of 20th
century furniture and decorative arts in this country. The Kirkland
Museum… should be on the 'must see' list of any serious scholar,
collector, or dealer of 20th century design." ---David
Rago, Rago
Arts and Auction Center, Lambertville,
NJ; frequent guest on PBS’s Antiques
Roadshow.
Ruba
Rombic Glassware,
1927-8, by Reuben Haley (American, 1872-1933); (Consolidated Co.,
Coraopolis, PA). Courtesy, Kirkland
Museum.
“The 20th-century design collection at the Kirkland
Museum is an oasis in a desert of narrow and limited efforts of most museums.”
---Don
Treadway, Treadway Gallery, Inc., Cincinnati, OH.
Dates:
Fri. and Sat., April 1-2, 2005. For
further information or to register call (212) 998-7130. You may also register by
completing the coupon below and faxing it to: (212) 995-4293 or on the web at www.scps.nyu.edu/arts. The course fee is
$345. Special room rates available at the following hotels: The Warwick Denver
(800) 525-2888, single/double: $109;The Burnsley Hotel (303)
830-1000, suites: $99. Please identify yourself as a New York University
participant.
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Dishing It Up!
Twentieth-Century Tableware
in the Collection of the Kirkland Museum/X03.8058/$345
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