American Folk Art a Popular Item : Much Is Particularly Suited to Contemporary Interiors

Patchwork quilts, duck decoys, rag rugs and old linens and tablecloths may suggest the good old days to some people.

But for those who pay attention to decorating trends, these items will be readily recognizable as decorative accessories of choice right now.

So appealing are the authentic examples of the mostly 19th-Century things that they are becoming quite scarce. Perhaps it was this scarcity that caused some people to line up early so as to be the first to enter the seventh annual preview of the Fall Antique Show in New York City. Each year the opening-night benefits the Museum of American Folk Art.

Since the benefit tickets cost $85, the level of commitment was definitely high among the early-comers. Bob Hamilton, a collector of Shaker furniture from Lancaster, Pa., said, “This is the best folk art show and sale around, and after the doors open the good things will be bought very quickly.”

As soon as the doors opened, a visitor could stroll about to see just what it was that attracted so many antiques lovers. The array of items was varied and colorful, and a look at the stock of the more than 100 dealers from all over the country indicated there were many interesting items from the past that could give a present-day home character.

Latter-Day Creations

Actually, primitive and folk pieces are not necessarily antiques. Some of the most colorful things were created in our own day. A large whirligig, for example, was made recently by folk artist Joe Machado of Toronto, according to Harvey Pranian, owner of Harvey’s Antiques of Evanston, Ill., who was selling the piece for $4,900.

The dealer discovered the piece by accident when a friend got lost in Toronto, came upon the colorful sculpture on the artist’s back porch, and told Pranian about it.

On the other hand, many more modest items were exhibited. Fancy needlework executed by Pennsylvania Dutch women on decorative towels were shown at $125 to $375 each. According to Sue Cunningham, a dealer from Denver, Pa., the towels, some as large as 20 by 60 inches, were never meant to dry dishes.

“They were put out on Sundays for show when visitors came calling,” she said. She suspects they had another function as well: “to keep the kids busy with practical needlework so they would stay out of mom’s hair.” Nowadays they are used as wall decor, bureau scarfs or table runners.

According to the dealer, who specializes in antiques from the Pennsylvania Dutch (known more correctly as Pennsylvania German) area, most of the earlier 18th-Century artifacts have largely been dispersed but “there are still some surprising things found, especially from the 1820s to 1875.”

The furniture, needlework and pottery of the farmers who still abound in the same area seem particularly suited to contemporary interiors, she said. Among other fairly inexpensive decorative pieces are doll quilts that nowadays are often framed and hung up on the wall.

Rag rugs made at home from scraps are another 19th-Century home furnishing that goes well in today’s interiors. According to Victor Weinblatt of Haydenville, Mass., who specializes in selling these colorful runners, the heyday of rag rugs in New England was between the 1870s and 1930s.

Symbol of Thrift

Weinblatt notes that “the rag carpet serves as the ultimate symbol of the thrift of the rural housewife. When pieces of clothing, bedding and other household textiles became too small to be recycled as garments or used in quilts, they were cut into narrow strips and sewn together end-to-end to become the weft of the rag rug.”

Today the runners are used as they once were--to make the home more comfortable by providing some insulation on cold floors and by adding a note of color. But they may also be hung on a wall or draped over a chair or sofa back. Runners come in all sizes and patterns but a typical 3-by-10-foot length might range in price from $150 to $250, he said.