The Everson Museum of Art in collaboration with The Arts & Crafts Society of Central New York is planning a free one-day symposium on Saturday, October 17, 2009, titled Women as Visionaries- Women as Participants. The symposium will be held from 9:45 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Everson’s Hosmer Auditorium, registration will be held from 9 – 9:30 a.m. All are invited, but advanced registration is required, and can be made by emailing [email protected] or calling Debora Ryan, Everson Museum of Art Senior Curator, (315) 474-6064.
Four scholars will discuss a range of topics including a general overview of the history of women in the Arts & Crafts Movement. The Everson Museum is a center for the study of American ceramics with strong holdings in American Art Pottery. The symposium will address the history of ceramic arts during the Arts & Crafts period and its importance to the Syracuse area.
“The Everson aims to educate audiences and raise awareness about the rich history of Arts & Crafts in Central New York and the important role women played on the scene nationally,” said Debora Ryan, Everson Museum of Art Senior Curator.
A new installation of New York State Arts & Crafts and a special exhibition entitled Women of Rookwood: American Art Pottery from the Joyce and Eliot Sterling Collection are scheduled to open August 8, 2009 in conjunction with the symposium. In addition, two hundred examples of American Art Pottery (including many designed or decorated by women) are on view in the Everson’s Center for the Study of American Ceramics. These remarkable resources provide speakers with excellent reference material while allowing participants to view objects that will be highlighted during the symposium.
Comments will be made by David Rudd, President of the Arts & Crafts Society of Central New York, Everson Director Steven Kern, and Senior Curator Debora Ryan.
The symposium will feature four speakers:
A. Patricia Bartinique is a professor of English at Essex County College, Newark, NJ and a long-time member of the contemporary Arts and Crafts Community. Since the 1980s she has been a scholar and researcher on many aspects of the Arts and Crafts Movement, including, but not limited to the furniture. Dr. Bartinique will provide a general overview of women in the Arts & Crafts.
Susan Montgomery is an independent decorative arts scholar, specializing in the New England tile makers and potters of the Arts & Crafts movement. She holds a B.A. in art history from Smith College and a Ph.D. in American & New England Studies from Boston University . Dr. Montgomery will add a discussion of the New England potteries represented in the Everson’s collection.
Elizabeth Fowler is an assistant professor of art/design history at Syracuse University , where she teaches classes on topics such as 20th-century Design, the Bauhaus, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Picasso, and Japanese Design. She earned her B.A. in International Studies from The George Washington University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Minnesota . Among her areas of research is American Art Pottery and Asian influence. Dr. Fowler will focus on women designers and decorators affiliated with Rookwood Pottery that will be represented in a special exhibition of the same on view at the Everson.
Ellen Paul Denker is a museum consultant and independent scholar. She received her undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology from Grinnell College , Iowa , and she holds a master’s degree from the University of Delaware , where she was a Fellow in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. She has written extensively on American ceramics, the Arts & Crafts movement, and American home furnishings. Mrs. Denker will address china decorators using examples from the Everson’s American Art Pottery collection.
Image: Adelaide Alsop Robineau, American (1865-1929), Jar with Cover, 1919. Porcelain. Gift of Dr. Ethel T. Eltinge, 82.33.1