: Colors in fashion come and go. One, however, has sustained at the
margins of Western taste for many centuries - blue - and is the
subject of an enlightening and enjoyable exhibition currently on
view at the American Folk Art Museum. "Blue," through March 6,
assembles 30 paintings, textiles and ceramics from the museum's
collections that illustrate the predominance of this color in
American art and social life since the Eighteenth Century.
Stacy Hollander, senior curator, recalls that the origins of the
exhibition were serendipitous, with her attentions first drawn to
the museum's textile holdings. Eventually, she realized, her
reflections centered not on one medium but on one color. So she
set out to organize an exhibition on the "history, mystery and
use of blue."
In light of the theme, only predominantly blue works are on
display. The visitor thus risks forming a distorted view of the
color's popularity - but not by much. By the Eighteenth Century,
there was a flowering of blue in art, interior design and
clothing after a slow emergence dating back to the Middle Ages.
