A cylindrical water cooler displaying a portrait of a Civil War general and his wife was purchased at an auction for $88,000, and set a record for American stoneware sold at a specialty sale. It was made by potters Fenton & Hancock of St Johnsbury, Vt. The general depicted is Asa Peabody Blunt (1826–1889), who distinguished himself in the 1862 Civil War battles at Lee's Mill and Savage's Station in Virginia. Photo courtesy New York State Museum.
:"Art for the People: Decorated Stoneware from the Weitsman Collection" is on exhibit at the New York State Museum through the summer of 2009.
The exhibition features 40 decorated stoneware vessels, including jugs, crocks, pitchers, jars and water coolers.
Most pieces were created in cities and towns across New York State. Many are "presentation pieces" — oversized and frequently decorated with elaborate and unusual cobalt blue designs. Tools used to decorate the stoneware are also included in the exhibition, as well as broadsides, a rare portrait of a potter and photos of potteries and their staffs.
Adam J. Weitsman of Owego, N.Y., acquired all of the stoneware in the exhibition and loaned or donated the pieces to the museum. In 1996, he donated his collection of 100 pieces to the museum. Pieces acquired since then form the basis for the current exhibition. Most have never been displayed before.
"We are enormously grateful to Mr Weitsman for choosing the State Museum as the repository for these outstanding examples of American folk art," said museum director Dr Clifford Siegfried.
Weitsman has focused on collecting the rarer "presentation pieces" created for special occasions including a cylindrical water cooler displaying a portrait of a Civil War general and his wife.
Also on display is a significant 1809 stoneware jar made by Paul Cushman of Albany, which came from the personal collection of PBS's
Antiques Roadshow
host Leigh Keno.
Exhibition curator John Scherer, also the museum's curator of decorative arts, will present a program on the collection and lead a short tour of the exhibition on Tuesday, February 19, at 7 pm. A catalog featuring the collection is also planned for 2008.
For information, 518-474-5877 or
www.nysm.nysed.gov
.
