A Retrospective of Crafts, Furniture From Kentucky

When Daniel Boone led a group of pioneers through the Cumberland Gap from Virginia in March, 1775, he was ushering in the vanguard of thousands of settlers who would found the state of Kentucky 17 years later. Among them were artisans whose craftsmanship had furnished the homes of Colonial America.

Searching for land and new opportunities were joiners, turners, carvers and cabinet makers, silversmiths, glassmakers and potters. Today, their furniture and such simple household items as candlesticks and tea kettles are avidly sought after by antique collectors.

Tradition Continues

The rich tradition they created in Kentucky still exists in the work of present-day artists. The best historic and contemporary examples of their work have been combined in an unusual and fascinating exhibition, “Kentucky Crafts: 1800-1987,” that opened this week at the Craft & Folk Art Museum.

Here you will see early examples of traditional folk art and crafts including wood carving, quilt and coverlet making, basketry and silversmithing juxtaposed with pieces by contemporary craft artists working in ceramics, glass, wood, fiber, metal, watercolor and mixed media.

Patrick H. Ela, director of the museum, traveled throughout Kentucky arranging for the loan of the various materials on display. Many come from museums, but others are part of private collections. Ela also visited a number of artists who live and work in rural communities.

‘Any Kind of Hair’

“There are some who still use nothing but hand tools,” he said. “One of the most interesting I met was Granny Toothman, who lives at Morehead in the foothills of the Appalachians. She is a weaver and will use any kind of hair, whether it be dog, yak or camel.”

The exhibition, he maintained, is about continuity and a place seen from different vantage points in time. It focuses on folk crafts, production crafts, designer crafts and contemporary craft arts.

“Rural and pre-industrial crafts in Kentucky are represented by furniture, iron work and utilitarian objects such as rakes, shovels, and baskets,” he said. “Also included are a variety of carved wooden figures, dulcimers, canes and animals, indicating the rich tradition of wood working throughout the state.”

A pair of fishing reels displayed in one case might seem odd as part of a crafts exhibition. But Ela discovered an interesting historical fact about them.

A Decline in Demand

In the mid 1800s, silversmiths and watchmakers, facing a decline in demand for their craft brought on by industrialization, turned to making fishing reels and tinware. Those on display are marvels of precision movement.

On one wall of the exhibition is a handmade quilt attributed to the wife of the Confederate Gen. Robert H. Lee and thought to have been given by her to a friend who lived in Kentucky.

There are other examples of hand-woven quilts in the showing, for these coverlets were made in every section of the country during Colonial times. It is an art that still survives in the Appalachians.

Some patterns were imported from Europe by the early settlers. Colors were chiefly red and white or blue and white, and the vegetable dyes were all homemade.

The Craft & Folk Art Museum is at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $1.50 for adults; $1.00 for seniors and students, and 75 cents for children. The exhibition closes Nov. 1. Information: (213) 937-5544.