Set of four chairs, Anthyme Leveque, Lead, S.D., circa 1930. Marquetry and inlay. The seats and their undersides are worked in marquetry, with no design repeated. The date 1930 is in bold ebony letters on the frame of one of the seat panels. Levenque exposed screws that secure the back braces; they are plated with gold from the local mines.

 

Masterpieces in Wood

American Folk Marquetry from the Hirschhorn Collection

By Karla Klein Albertson

NEW YORK CITY - Woodworking skills were once passed down from father to son, in much the same way that mothers taught daughters to sew. In fact, marquetry, an overlay technique in which wood chips and veneers were assembled in intricate patterns, is often referred to as "men's quilting." Just as piecing enlivened humble bed linens, marquetry designs added visual interest to homemade pieces of furniture. While most woodworkers were of average ability, some carpenters - fueled by an inner vision - labored long hours to produce masterpieces in wood.

Intricate marquetry furniture from the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries has long been a star player at major Americana shows, where an individual example, often priced in the four to five-figure range, may be the centerpiece of a dealer's display.

Now a new exhibition at the Museum of American Folk Art, "Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from the Hirschhorn Foundation," puts on public view more than 70 outstanding objects - chairs, tables, boxes, clocks, frames, gameboards, and other furniture - from the collection formed by Robert and Marjorie Hirschhorn.

This great collection, like most, began with just one piece purchased thirty years ago. Marjorie Hirschhorn remembers walking into a Manhattan antiques shop with their daughter Carolyn still at the stroller stage.

"We saw this magnificent patterned box and were drawn to it," Marjorie says. "It turned out to be a jewelry box with little compartments inside, and that was the first piece of marquetry in the collection. It was intriguing because of the beautiful pattern and detail, which reminded me almost of quilting. From that one box, it just grew and grew and grew."

When the Hirschhorns moved from New York City to Springfield, Mass., Marjorie with daughter in tow began to actively seek out more examples. "I just adore the boxes in the collection. We started filling bookshelves, and they looked so absolutely marvelous. I was an interior designer for over 20 years in Springfield, so I used a lot of marquetry not only in our own home but in my work."

As her husband, Robert, grew more interested as well, the couple became absolutely passionate about the subject. They attended shows and auctions as a family, expanding their collecting from boxes to game boards, picture frames, then furniture.

The breadth of the current assemblage of over 300 pieces belies the difficulty of their quest, but Marjorie knows better. "Marquetry was never that easy to find, to tell you the truth. I can't say that when we went to an antiques show that there was a choice of pieces or a great deal of it around. If we were lucky enough to find something, that was wonderful."

The shared devotion to collecting also became a personal tie for the couple, as Marjorie explains, "This is something that my husband and I have done together, and it's been a wonderful connection. And we rarely, rarely disagree. Even when we're walking around separately at a show, we will notice the same pieces. That's how in sync we are." Their daughter Carolyn, now grown, continues to be interested as well and has passed on her love of antiques to granddaughter Alexandra.

The opening of "Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from the Hirschhorn Foundation" fulfilled a long-held dream for the collectors, who believe that a full appreciation of the workmanship only comes from viewing the objects in person. They were pleased to see visitors giving marquetry the serious contemplation that it deserves. Marjorie was amused when someone at the show asked her, "How do you really know when you're a collector as opposed to just buying things?" and replied, "When you're a collector, you will buy something even if it's large and you have absolutely no place to put it."

In summation, Marjorie Hirschhorn comments, "We were just fascinated by the fact that people took the time and had the patience to create these objects. Thank goodness, there wasn't televison or the internet back then. Now, when most things are mass-produced quickly without any feeling, I think we value our collection all the more. The pieces are almost like our children in the sense that every single piece in the collection has a story we remember. This is not a passion that fades. I wonder, where will we find our next masterpiece?"

Richard Muhlberger, the exhibition's guest curator, is a longtime friend of the Hirschhorns. Their close relation dates back to the days when he was director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Mass., where the collectors lived and worked.

He recalls, "She originally liked the decorative value, and he sees this all as part of American history. Each piece they have found is another sentence in that history.

"Robert Hirschhorn is also fascinated by the romance of the folk artist, who might spend the long winter, working by himself, to make a marquetry desk that no one could possibly afford to buy because the hours invested are so incredibly great," the curator adds.

Collectors unfamiliar with woodworking techniques may confuse "marquetry," where various pieces of wood are arranged in a pattern on top of the furniture surface, glued in place, and surrounded with a molding, with "inlay," where the furniture case is decorated with pieces of a contrasting color of wood set into actual cuts made in the surface. The related term "parquetry" is simply marquetry consisting entirely of geometric shapes cut with straight edges.

Marquetry was made possible, long before the all-electric home shop, by the light-weight fretsaw, invented around 1562. Also called a coping saw, this tool brought precision to the cutting and shaping of small pieces of wood. In 1799, the foot-powered jigsaw was patented in Auxerre, France, although it took another century for it to gain popularity with American marquetry makers.

Unlike the more familiar French marquetry applied by professional cabinetmakers to their commissions, American folk marquetry usually ornamented objects used around the house that were never offered for sale. Occasionally, pieces were presented to family or friends as a special gift.

Muhlberger recognized that the work, while much admired, had never been explored in a scholarly manner. "Histories of marquetry chronicle the contributions of European craftsmen, but have ignored a strong tradition in North America. In spite of its direct appeal and sophisticated beauty, American folk marquetry has never been studied, catalogued, or recognized as a distinct body of work. Until recently, documentation had not been discovered, names of marquetry makers were not known, and a collection of important work was not available for study," he observed.

Even in a superb collection such as the Hirschhorns have assembled, a challenge to the researcher arises because American marquetry work is rarely signed. Thus most of the artisans remain nameless, although the design motifs may indicate whether the men were farmers, sailors or even prisoners.

Several of the objects in the current exhibition do have interesting tales to tell. Robert Hirschhorn sought documented examples. Marjorie Hirschhorn recalls the excitement the couple shared, when they would find a photograph or descriptive paper tucked away in the drawer of a woodworking project.

Visually and historically, one showpiece of the exhibition is a secretary desk known to have been made by Frederick Stedman Hazen of Springfield, Mass. A woodworker for the Boston and Albany Railroad, Steadman seems to have devoted all his free moments to this major cabinetry project between 1862 and 1869. The patterns are composed of 21,378 pieces of wood from 300 different species of tree and incorporate historic relics such as chips from the ships Endeavor and Constitution, the steeple of Independence Hall, the Charter Oak, and Mount Vernon.

About this extraordinary object, Muhlberger writes, "Other pieces relate to Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War, which Hazen followed through articles in the Springfield Republican. Hazen clipped those he considered especially relevant, and bound them into a book stored inside the secretary. Thus the secretary is not only a masterpiece of marquetry, but a reliquary, a memorial to the Civil War, and a celebration of the war's conclusion."

"Many marquetry makers kept count of the pieces of veneer as they made the object and would exhibit them at county fairs with a sign that proudly said, `15,000 pieces of wood!' or whatever they used," explains Muhlberger.

Records state that Anthyme Leveque (1880-1951) of Lead, S.D., spent 29,190 hours over a period of four years assembling 257,703 pieces into the elaborate designs on a bridge table and chair set displayed in the show. Leveque was also a carpenter, in his case for the Homestake Mining Company where he worked for 53 years. Yet his use of 161 different kinds of wood in the patterns on a black walnut frame seem to indicate a creative exuberance that transcends mere utility.

Muhlberger finds several strong influences combined in the American marquetry tradition. "I see one stream coming from the Mayflower, where the ship's carpenter stayed in Plymouth and other ship's carpenters joined him, and every town that was founded had carpenters. The major piece in the show, the secretary by Frederick Stedman Hazen - he's out of that tradition. In fact, he is a Mayflower descendant. Then around 1845 or so the German and other European immigrants come in great numbers bringing their own background in marquetry with them, so you get a melding."

The immigrant contribution is evident in the work of Henry A. Hyma (1867-1955), a third documented craftsmen represented in the exhibition. Born in the Netherlands, Hyma settled in Holland, Michigan, where he was employed by the West Michigan Furniture Company, eventually becoming superintendent of the cabinet shop. In his off hours, he enjoyed a busman's holiday, making his own brand of marquetry furniture for his children and grandchildren. A child's table on display displays his sophisticated understanding of both laminating and lathe work or turning.

While marquetry requires considerable woodworking skill, the exhibition reminds the viewer that something more than advanced carpentry must be present before it becomes true folk art. The exemplary pieces chosen by the Hirschhorns come from the skillful hands of men who were also compelled by a creative vision which transformed their long hours of woodworking into patterned artistry.

To accompany the exhibition, the Museum of American Folk Art has published American Folk Marquetry: Masterpieces in Wood by Richard Muhlberger. In the illustrated volume, the author discusses the history of marquetry, parquetry and inlay and examines 95 extraordinary objects decorated with these techniques. The book may be purchased for $65 plus $5 postage and handling from Mail Order, Museum of American Folk Art, 2 Lincoln Square, New York, N.Y. 10023; 212/496-2966.

"Masterpieces in Wood: American Folk Marquetry from the Hirschhorn Foundation" continues through January 10. A talk entitled "Pieces of the Puzzle" by Katherine Howe, curator of decorative arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will be presented on Wednesday, November 4, at 6 pm.

Telephone 212/595-9533.