Fruit dishes, Staffordshire, England, circa 1760-70; salt-glazed stoneware, left and tortoiseshell-colored lead-glazed earthenware. Respectively, gift funds from Dr and Mrs Gary Russollilo (Petrina) and gift of Harry H. Coon. All images courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
WILLIAMSBURG, VA. – Renowned as one of the leading annual decorative arts gatherings in the country that attracts curators, scholars, collectors and aficionados each winter, the 69th Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum promises to uphold its tradition of sharing recent findings and insights in Early American Craftsmanship: Influence and Innovation from February 24 to 28.
Portrait of William King, Jr, Washington, D.C., by James Alexander Simpson, 1841 oil on canvas. Museum purchase, Elaine and Don Bogus, Jerry Dalton, Elizabeth T. Gessley, Mary and Clinton Gilliland, Robert F. Grossman, Philip LeDuc, Marcia and Lawrence Long, Margaret Mathews, Margaret Beck Pritchard, Mark and Loretta Roman, and Community Foundation for Northern Virginia/The MOTSTA Fund.
Through a series of fascinating programs and lectures, attendees will delve into a dynamic aspect of American material culture focusing on the heavy influence of home cultures on immigrant artisans and consumers over generations. British, German, French, African and other trade practices are evidence of these influences in the goods produced from Maine to Louisiana. Simultaneously, America’s distance from the Old World, its access to different materials and interactions between diverse cultural groups created a fertile environment for innovation in the arts.
Scheduled speakers include June Lucas, director of research at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Kentucky art historian Estill Curtis Pennington and Lisa Minardi, noted scholar on Pennsylvania-German culture. Colonial Williamsburg curators will also speak on a broad range of topics ranging from “Two Nations Divided by a Common Craft: Silversmithing in Britain and America” to “The Swords of George Washington.” In addition to the formal program, Forum guests may register for optional hands-on workshops with the Colonial Williamsburg collections and private tours of historic homes in the region.
The fee to attend Antiques Forum is $650 per person and includes three continental breakfasts, three coffee breaks, two afternoon refreshment breaks, an opening reception, a closing reception and dinner, all presentations and a Colonial Williamsburg admission ticket valid through March 5. Full-time museum professionals can receive a 50 percent discount off the full registration fee, limited to two professionals per qualifying institution.
For more information and to register, www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/conted or call 800-603-0948; Monday-Friday, 9 to 5.
