: Urns, eagles and shields - timeless emblems of American democracy
- are the nonpartisan order of the day at the Columbus Museum.
Through January 9, Georgia's second largest art museum (only the
High Museum in Atlanta is bigger) is hoisting the flag in honor
of "Our Young Nation: American Federal Furniture and Decorative
Arts from The Watson Collection."
Accompanied by an extensive catalog, the sprawling display of
1780 through 1820 furniture, silver, glass, ceramics and lighting
is a milestone for the all-American institution, whose permanent
collection ranges from prehistoric Chattahoochee River Valley
artifacts to an outstanding group of American drawings and other
works on paper.
Through war and peace, Republican administrations and Democratic
ones, Dr and Mrs D. Ronald Watson have quietly and patiently
pursued their passion for antiques. Their 1958 home, modeled
after historic Wilton House on the James River in Virginia and
the George Wythe House at Colonial Williamsburg, according to Dr
Watson, is strained to bursting with Federal furniture from New
England to the South. Argand lamps are a specialty of the
Watsons' companion collection of Seventeenth through Nineteenth
Century American, English and European lighting. In all, nearly
100 pieces were culled for the display in the museum's Hardaway
Gallery.
