Skilled Work

Marking its twenty-fifth anniversary in 1997, the Renwick Gallery has become the nation’s premier showcase and study center for objects made of metal, fiber, wood, clay, and glass. As a curatorial department of the National Museum of American Art, the Renwick has grown from a kunsthalle for temporary exhibitions to a museum branch dedicated to collecting, research, publications, exhibitions, and education. The Renwick’s efforts have played a major role in heightening public appreciation of crafts and providing encouragement to those who create them. This book serves as an introduction to the world of modern crafts, exploring in both words and pictures the vibrant diversity of objects that have entered the Renwick Gallery’s collection. In his essay for the book, curator-in-charge Kenneth R. Trapp traces the Renwick’s history, highlighting the contributions of his predecessors and the many other people whose commitment to the gallery has ensured its success, notably the James Renwick Alliance. In his essay Howard Risatti explores our intuitive understanding of the way crafts are related to the human body and their consequent deep meaning for us. Also included are brief biographies of sixty-five artists whose work is represented in the book, among them Anni Albers, Wendell Castle, Dale Chihuly, Harvey Littleton, Peter Voulkos, and Beatrice Wood.