Take a tour of the Renwick Gallery, the craft division of the Smithsonian, and enjoy an in-depth look at the artists and the work of this unparalleled collection of handmade contemporary furniture. This absorbing volume features profiles and interviews of 64 artists and reveals their artistic influences and interpretations along with 112 stunning photos of iconic work. From the Back Cover About the Authors Dr. Oscar Fitzgerald earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and served as director of the Navy Museum in Washington, D.C., until he decided to pursue full time his passion as a furniture historian and decorative arts consultant. He is currently on the faculty of the Smithsonian Institution/Corcoran School Master's Program in the Decorative Arts where he developed and teaches a core course on the studio furniture movement. His book, Four Centuries of American Furniture, which includes coverage of the studio furniture movement, is the standard reference work in the field. In 2004 he was awarded a prestigious James Renwick Research Fellowship, which funded research for an essay published in the 2005 issue of Furniture Studio. Paul Greenhalgh is a world-renowned scholar of the decorative arts and a leading figure in the international museum and academic world. He is currently director and president of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art and design, in Washington, D.C. His previous posts have included the presidency of NSCAL University, one of the leading Canadian institutions of art and design (2001-2006); head of research at the Victoria & Albert Museum (1992-94); deputy keeper of ceramics and glass at the V&A (1990-1992). Over the past two decades he has also written and edited a number of defining texts in the field of the crafts, decorative arts, and cultural history, including Ephemeral Vistas (1988), Modernism in Design (1990), Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 (2000) The Persistence of Craft (200), and The Modern Ideal (2005). He also curated the seminal exhibition Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 at the V&A in 2000. Review "Fitzgerald offers a long-overdue portfolio showcasing the Renwick Gallery's entire 84-piece collection of crafted American furniture. This critical resource will serve as a foundation for the study and historic preservation of 20th-century American furniture makers' work. Highly recommended." --"Choice" Fitzgerald’s statistical analysis of the collection, formulated from detailed interviews with the surviving artists, casts new light on workshop practices,marketing concerns and other aspects of the contemporary studio furniture movement. A foreword by noted scholar and curator Paul Greenhalgh gives readers a brilliant overview of the studio furniture field and the intimate role furniture plays in daily life. - The Crafts Report Art, architecture, and design meet function in this stunning book. Studio Furniture documents and celebrates the masters of the craft while offering a historical retrospective of American furniture practice. A terrific resource for the collector, student or layperson. - Scout and Morgan Books for Midwest Booksellers Association In this beautiful, wide-format soft cover, Oscar Fitzgerald does an admirable job of describing each maker’s importance to the movement...Fine Woodworking No student, collector, or furniture enthusiast should be without this coffee-table style book, available in hard or soft-cover that so beautifully illustrates such an important movement in modern craft. -Vic Tesolin, Canadian Woodworking#hardcover#nonfiction#hardcover#furniture#design#art