Furniture Forum 2007
Inlay, Veneer and Imported Woods in America, 1785-1830

Thursday and Friday, March 1-2, 2007

Thursday, March 1
Registration opens at 8:30 am in the Visitor Center.

Welcome and morning lectures will begin at 9:00 am in Copeland Lecture Hall

KEYNOTE LECTURE
European Precedents for American Veneer and Inlay Work
Dr. Ulrich Leben, Associate Curator of the Furniture Collection, Waddesdon Manor, Great Britain

"Lately received from the manufactory of Duhurst & Son": The Documentation on Imports and Domestic Production.
Stephen Latta, Associate Professor, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

"Fine satin-wood, tulipwood and purple wood veneers": Woods, Domestic and Imported, Tools, and Techniques for Veneer and Inlay Work
Michael Podmaniczky, Senior Furniture Conservator, Winterthur

Lunch (provided)
Afternoon lectures will resume at 1:45 pm

THE ROBERT FRANCIS FILETI ENDOWED VIDEO-ASSIST DEMONSTRATION
Fancy Banding and Stringing…to Any Pattern: Demystifying Inlay
Stephen Latta, Associate Professor, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

VIDEO-ASSIST DEMONSTRATION
Hammer Veneering Made Simple: Getting the Veneer and Inlay Down
Gregory Landrey, Interim Director of the Library, Collections Management, and Academic Programs Division

Brass: The Other Inlay
Peter M. Kenny, Curator of American Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Hors d'oeuvres reception, 5:30-7:30 pm

Friday, March 2
Morning lectures will begin at 9:15 am in Copeland Lecture Hall

"Shells for inlaying Mahogany Furniture…": Pictorial and Geometric Inlay in Urban Centers
Sumpter T. Priddy III, Museum Consultant and Dealer, Alexandria, Virginia

Regional Variations in Eagle Inlays, 1790 to 1830
David Barquist, Curator of American Decorative Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia

"Making and letting in a berry and husk and drop…": Discerning Regional Differences in Bellflower Inlays
Wendy A. Cooper, Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Senior Curator of Furniture, Winterthur

An Immigrant Craftsman Case Study: Martin Pfeninger in Charleston
J. Thomas Savage, Director of Museum Affairs, Winterthur

Lunch (provided)
Afternoon lectures will resume at 1:45 pm

Early Kentucky Furniture: Selected Examples of Inlaid Decoration
Marianne Ramsey, Associate Professor of Art and Design at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky

Birds, Busts and Bellflowers: The Idiosyncratic Inlay of Tennessee Furniture
Anne S. McPherson, Private dealer and consultant, John Bivins Associates

A Cultural Fusion: The Inlaid Furniture of Early Ohio
Andrew Richmond, American Furniture Specialist, Garth’s Auctions, Delaware, Ohio

Putting It All Together: Summarizing What We Have Learned
Mark J. Anderson, Furniture Conservator, Winterthur

Dr. Ulrich Leben is the Associate Curator of Furniture for The Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Great Britain. Dr. Leben specializes in French and German decorative arts. His publications include a monograph on Bernard Molitor (1755–1833) and Object Design in the Age of Enlightenment (J. Paul Getty Trust, 2004).

Stephen Latta has been an educator/cabinetmaker for over twenty years focusing primarily on furniture of the Federal Style. He is an associate professor at Thaddeus Stevens College in Lancaster PA. He has lectured on the topic of inlay at various institutions including Colonial Williamsburg and the Milwaukee Art Museum. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers and has published extensively in Woodwork, Fine Woodworking and American Period Furniture: The Journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers.

Michael Podmaniczky received his MA in decorative arts conservation through the Smithsonian Institution and has been a furniture conservator at Winterthur since 1986. Prior to conservation Mike worked as a furniture maker and boat builder, so it is not surprising that his research interests are in traditional cabinetmaking practices. He also builds contemporary furniture and is a trustee of the Furniture Society. In 2002, Mike curated The Incredible Elastic Chairs of Samuel Gragg, an exhibition of the work of the 19th century Boston chair maker.

Gregory Landrey’s practical experience began at age 16 when he started working as a cabinet shop assistant for the Corner Cupboard Antiques in Strafford, PA under the tutorage of David Sloan. He continued restoring furniture at the Corner Cupboard for seven years, serving as the cabinet shop manager for his last two years there. In addition to this bench training, Landrey went to Gettysburg College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history. He joined Winterthur in 1979 as Assistant Furniture Conservator. He served as the head of the Winterthur Furniture Conservation Laboratory from 1986 to 1995. He is now the Director of the Conservation Department and Interim Director of Library, Collections Mgtmnt & Academic Division. Greg’s research has focused on the preservation of historic surface coatings, techniques of traditional cabinetmaking, and conservation management. Landrey is an adjunct associate professor for the Winterthur University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) and has written and lectured extensively on furniture conservation and historic furniture.

Peter M. Kenny is Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts and Administrator of The American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mr. Kenny is a 1985 graduate of the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies. In 1986 he joined the staff of the Metropolitan as a coordinator for the installation of the Henry R. Luce Study Center in the American Wing. In 1989 he joined the curatorial staff of the American Wing with principal responsibilities for the collections of furniture and base metals. Mr. Kenny has lectured extensively on the subject of American furniture at many of the nation’s leading art museums and has written articles for The Magazine Antiques and American Furniture.

Sumpter T. Priddy III is keenly interested in the artists and artisans of early America-particularly those who worked in the pre-industrial South. He is interested in studying their material products as a means to better understanding the past. Mr. Priddy holds an undergraduate degree in the History of Architecture from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. He has served as a tutor for Historic Deerfield’s Summer Fellowship Program and as Curator of Exhibition Buildings and Teaching Curator for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. For a quarter century now he has pursued his interest in early Americana from his gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, where he consults with collectors and museums. His recent book, American Fancy, Exuberance in the Arts, 1790-1840 was published by the Chipstone Foundation in conjunction with an exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, and the Maryland Historical Society. It won the 2004 Historic New England Book Prize for its “valuable contribution to the study of early American and New England Culture.”

David Barquist is the Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Dr. Barquist oversees a world-renowned collection of American decorative arts, including outstanding 18th- and 19th century Philadelphia furniture and silver; the arts of rural Pennsylvania; an unmatched collection of Tucker porcelain, design books, papers and tools; over 500 examples of American glass; and Shaker furniture and objects, as well as fine holdings of Victorian art, Rookwood ceramics, and 20th-century crafts. Prior to his post at the Museum, Dr. Barquist served as Acting Curator of American Decorative Arts at Yale University Art Gallery, where he began his career in 1981 as a National Museum Act Intern in the American Arts Office and rose to positions including Special Exhibition Coordinator, Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts, and Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts.

Wendy A. Cooper has been Curator of Furniture at Winterthur Museum since 1995, becoming the Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Senior Curator of Furniture in 1999. Prior to coming to Winterthur, Ms. Cooper was Curator of Decorative Arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art (1987-1995). A graduate of Brown University and the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, University of Delaware, she has worked at the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. She has also worked with the National Gallery as guest curator on two exhibitions, In Praise of America: American Decorative Arts 1640-1840 and The Kaufman Collection of American Furniture. In 2002 Wendy curated a traveling exhibition and publication entitled An American Vision: Henry Frances duPont’s Winterthur Museum.

J. Thomas Savage currently serves as Director of Museum Affairs at Winterthur with oversight of the museum’s curatorial, marketing, education, and visitor services departments. Before coming to Winterthur, Tom was Senior Vice President and Division Head for educational studies at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York, New York. Prior to Sotheby’s he was the Curator and Director of Museums for the Historic Charleston Foundation in Charleston SC. Tom received his master’s degree in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program and has authored numerous articles in publications such as The Charleston Interior, American Furniture (1997), Southern Furniture 1680-1830: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection, and In Pursuit of Refinement: Charlestonians Abroad, 1740-1860.

Marianne Ramsey is an Interior Design Consultant for Crabtree Restorations and Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Design at Eastern Kentucky University where she teaches courses on the History of Interiors, Residential Design, Contract Design, Historic Preservation and Restoration, American and Kentucky Architecture, and Interiors and Decorative Arts. Ms. Ramsey recently curated an exhibition at Shaker Village of Kentucky chairmakers, which examined 75 examples of 19th-century vernacular seating furniture from central and southwest Kentucky counties. Ms. Ramsey received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Kentucky.

Anne S. McPherson is a private dealer and consultant in southern decorative arts and the principal of John Bivins Associates, LLC. She holds a master's degree in American Studies from the College of William and Mary and has written articles for numerous publications including the Journal of Early Southern Decorative Arts, American Furniture, and The Magazine Antiques. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee and Manchester, Vermont.

Andrew Richmond is an American Furniture Specialist with Garth’s Auctions in Delaware, Ohio. Andrew comes to Garth's after a three-year career with Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he most recently served as the head of the Decorative Arts Department. Richmond's passion for research has led him to write several articles for such publications as The Magazine Antiques and American Furniture, the annual journal published by the Chipstone Foundation. Richmond was born and raised in Ohio, where he attended Kenyon College in Gambier. After achieving his B.A. in history, he worked as a librarian for several years before an interest in American furniture led him to pursue an M.A. in Early American Culture from Winterthur Museum at the University of Delaware.

Mark J. Anderson received an interdisciplinary B.A. from the University of Maryland, Catonsville.; the interdisciplinary degree combined chemistry, art history, and museum studies. His coursework at Catonsville was augmented by his partnership in a Baltimore firm specializing in furniture making and antique restoration. In 1984 Anderson accepted a Fellowship at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and was subsequently offered a position as Assistant Conservator of Furniture. In addition to treating furniture in the CW collection Anderson also assisted in the reproduction of several important pieces of furniture including an exact copy of the ornately carved and insignia-decorated Masonic Master Chair by Benjamin Bucktrout, 1767. In 1986 he accepted a position as a furniture conservator at Winterthur and concurrently began teaching for the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). In 1989 he was made a faculty member of the Smithsonian Institution Conservation Analytical Laboratory Furniture Conservation Training Program. He has consulted for The White House, Monticello, The National Park service and many public and private museums. Anderson has been a regular lecturer for private and professional audiences and has authored numerous articles and studies. The topics range from a study on the origins and construction of Pennsylvania Moravian easy chairs produced within a religious community, to a scientific investigation of elemental sulfur used as an inlay material in American furniture. Currently Anderson holds the position of Upholstered Furniture Conservator at Winterthur.

Only registered conference attendees may participate in these workshops and the special tour. Space in each is limited; we will accommodate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch is on your own on these optional workshop days. Please choose from the following sessions. They will be offered twice on Wednesday, Feb. 28 (1:00 & 3:00pm), and Saturday, March 3 (9:00 & 11:00am).

Workshops
Non-Urban Inlay: Homegrown Inlays from Lombard to Forster  [Description]
Brock Jobe, Professor of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur

The Whole Picture: Eagles to Bellflowers from Winterthur’s Collection  [Description]
Wendy A. Cooper, Winterthur
David Barquist, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Survival and Revival: Looking at Inlay in the Colonial Revival Style  [Description]
Michael Podmaniczky, Winterthur

Conservation Treatments for Changes Over Time in Veneers and Inlays  [Description]
Gregory Landrey, Winterthur

Regional Preferences for Banding and Stringing  [Description]
Stephen Latta, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Special Tour
Major Federal Furniture at Winterthur  [Description]
Nicholas Vincent, McNeil Fellow, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture

Non-Urban Inlay: Homegrown Inlays from Lombard to Forster (limited to 12)
Have you ever looked closely at inlay?  During the Federal era, Massachusetts furniture-makers offered a dazzling array of distinctive patterns.  We will explore the range of designs and regional preferences of these artisans—from the pictorial scenes of Nathan Lombard to the simpler plans of Jacob Forster.  In the process, we will consider the challenge of authenticating these striking ornamental elements.

The Whole Picture: Eagles to Bellflowers from Winterthur’s Collection (limited to 12)
All eagles and all bellflowers are not created equal, and that is especially true of these motifs presented as inlay on American furniture. This workshop will give participants a close-up, bird’s eye view of the numerous variations in both these popular American motifs, while at the same time teaching one how to recognize distinctive regional preferences.

Survival and Revival: Looking at Inlay in the Colonial Revival Style (limited to 8)
Join Mike for this exercise in connoisseurship as he examines examples of Winterthur’s colonial revival inlay collection next to 18th and 19th-century period examples.

Conservation Treatments for Changes Over Time in Veneers and Inlays (limited to 12)
Description coming soon

Regional Preferences for Banding and Stringing / Banding, Stringing and the Maker’s Intent (limited to 12)
Banding and stringing patterns could range from a simple holly strip defining the edge of a table apron to a stunning geometric accent adding to the exuberance of a high-style sideboard. Properly executed, their level of complexity served to complement the overall design effect. In this workshop, we will examine simple and intricate banding and string work, both rural and urban, and discuss why cities such as Boston and Baltimore displayed the widest and most fanciful arrays.

Major Federal Furniture at Winterthur (limited to 5)
Description coming soon