These Humbler Metals

-A glimpse into the past of one of North America's most revered art movements -Explores the dichotomy between industrialism and aesthetics The Arts and Crafts movement in America was marked by a spirit of reform along with the belief that traditional craftsmanship could ennoble a society overcome by rampant industrialization. Simplicity in style and honesty in construction had the power to transform a utilitarian object into a beautiful one, enhancing the lives of both maker and user. Arts and Crafts Metalwork showcases the work of eleven designers and craftsmen from the period between 1900 and 1930, including Gustav Stickley, Karl Kipp, Dirk van Erp, and the Roycrofters. Color photographs detail more than two hundred metal objects, all selected from the Two Red Roses Foundation's extensive collection, while archival images of design sketches and magazine advertisements highlight the philosophy and working methods behind these artisans and their creations.

Amid the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, in 1929, Clarence Wemett, an upstate New York petroleum merchant, underwrote a craft shop bordering U.S. Route 20 and, a few years later, a different one 15 miles away. At precisely the wrong time for such things to happen, the improbable idea of selling discretionary goods targeted to a consumer market characterized by 25 percent unemployment at a rural highway's roadside achieved traction: the first shop was in business for a quarter century, the second for nearly 40 years. More significant than their surprising longevity is the shops' long-lasting contribution to a nascent, national movement that spans crafts personally created for individual use to the commercial work that sees craft elevated to a fine art—craft objects moved from pantry shelves to museum vitrines and craftworkers from hobbyists to professionals. The roadside shops introduced a business model that, 70 years later, is widely experienced on a very different but equally "super" highway, the Internet, and their story is a chapter in the pre-history of the modern crafts movement.