Art Libraries Society of North America 31^st Annual Conference
Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland - March 20-26, 2003

Session 8  

Fine and Folk: Traditional Decorative Arts of Maryland.

Moderators:
Elizabeth Broman. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Library.
Kathy Woodrell. Library of Congress.

Speakers:
Anita Jones. Associate Curator, Decorative Arts for Textiles, Baltimore Museum of Art.
Cynthia Schaffner. Author and Independent furniture historian. Adjunct curator, Halsey House, Southampton, N.Y.
Gregory R. Weidman, Furnishing Project Coordinator, Historic Hampton, Inc.
James Abbott, Curator of Decorative Arts, Baltimore Museum of Art. 

Recorder:
Stephen Van Dyk, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

The Program:

Anita Jones spoke on the topic of Baltimore and Maryland Album Quilts.  Quilts, created in the 19th century, visually document events and members of area families much like album books do.   Ms. Jones, with the aid of slides, presented a survey of the types of quilts that were developed focusing on mid-19^th century styles.  The first album quilts were simple – generally simple grid patterns with borders of chintz.  Later developments used the “Parson” print that showed shadowing on the images, others used “Turkey-Red” fabrics, and a popular motif was the fruit or flower basket.   The “fondue or rainbow” print on these quilts allowed varying intensities –at times giving a rippling or wood grain effect.  Ms. Jones then identified various sources that inspired Maryland album quilts including copper print plates, printed sources such as newspaper images, furniture and architectural ornament, fraternal, religious and temperance tracts, and decorative Staffordshire plates.   Common motifs on these beautifully crafted quilts ranged from period inventions such as steamboats and fire engines to Baltimore landmarks, notably the Washington Monument, area gardens and fountains to political figures and events such as the Mexican-American War.  Jones concluded with an examination of an intricately designed wedding quilt containing numerous images and patterns.

Cynthia Schaffner’s talk centered on sources and examples of Baltimore regional painted furniture dating from 1790 to 1840.   She used slides to link key print sources (mostly European pattern books) to examples of painted furniture created in the area.  During the 1800-1840 period Baltimore was the center of the painted furniture manufacturing in America. During the late 18^th century to the early 19^th century –“fancy” furniture was developed inspired by such sources as Hepplewhite, Robert Adam, and Sheraton.  Major producers of these painted furniture pieces in Baltimore were John and Hugh Finlay and Francis Guy.  The pre-1820 pieces were therefore strongly inspired by British sources and had a folk-like quality (flower and fruit basket motifs).  The later styles in painted furniture were inspired by French and English neo-classical/neo-Grecian styles. Influences included the paintings of David and the pattern books of Percier & Fontaine, and Thomas Hope.  Hugh Finlay also went to Europe in 1810 and viewed classical motifs there.  The motifs in painted furniture after 1815-1820, therefore, featured scrolling acanthus leaves, winged thunderbolts, and palmettes –many inspired by Grecian vases and murals from Pompeii.  Ms. Schaffner concluded by showing an interior that contained many Maryland painted furniture pieces in this neo-classical style.

The discussion of Maryland furniture continued with a slide talk given by Gregory Weidman who focused on select cabinetmakers of the area.  There were few notable cabinetmakers in Baltimore until shortly after the American Revolution when Gerard Hopkins and Robert Moore began working in the area.   Baltimore grew significantly from 1790 to 1800 and many cabinetmakers migrated to the city, notably Richard Lawson and John Bankston.  The firm of Bankston & Lawson brought London high styles to Baltimore and was known for their exquisite inlay work. In the early decades of the 19^th century Baltimore cabinetmakers, such as Thomas Shearer, created precise copies of Hepplewhite and Sheraton and, at the same time, mixed pattern book styles.  Fine pieces with delicate ornamental inlay work were created by such cabinetmakers as Levin Tarr, John Needles, and William Camp.  At this time, Baltimore furniture makers began using exotic woods such as imported satinwood, Australian woods, and mahoganies.  Ms. Weidman concluded with showing examples of finely crafted pieces produced after 1815 that were strongly influenced by French neo-classical styles.

James Abbott, the final speaker, initially noted that the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) owns significant collections of objects created by regional craftsmen.  His slide presentation surveyed the production of silverware in Maryland in the late 18^th and 19^th centuries. Silver, in these periods, was considered a valuable commodity and also a status symbol. As the city grew in the 1790’s, Baltimore became a major center for the production of fine silver objects and tableware in America.  William Ferris, William Ball, and Christopher Hughes were major Baltimore silversmiths who were inspired by English tastes in the Rococo style of the time. At the turn of the century, however, a minimal style with simpler and more delicate lines emerged (in contrast to the ornate Adamesque pieces), inspired perhaps by nearby Philadelphia.  In the 1820’s, silversmiths such as Simon Wedge and William Thompson developed pieces in a “monumental” neo-classical style.  A number of revival styles can be seen in later 19^th century Maryland silver pieces reflecting an interest in Chinese and American Indian patterns.  James concluded this presentation by showing several very elaborate Victorian silver pieces noting that the metalwork industry had continued in Baltimore on into the late 19^th century.