American Style: Russell Kettell's Pine Furniture
February 1, 2008 - May 18, 2008

"Boxes," Top: Coastal New Hampshire, 1710-1750, Private Collection
Middle: New England, 1750-1780, painted pine, F1038, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection
Bottom: New England, 1710-1750, Private Collection

"Miniature Six-Board Cases", (left) New England, about 1800, Painted pine, F1080, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection
(right) New England, 19th century, Painted pine, H1581, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection

In the 1920s and 30s, Russell Kettell, collector and author of the now classic books Pine Furniture and Early American Rooms,  defined an aesthetic that helped shape the appreciation of American domestic art and craft. His book on period rooms, compiled with the help of the first generation of American museum professionals to interpret American art, was the first to define the canon for the re-creation of historic domestic interiors. His book on pine furniture similarly defined for generations the distinctive appeal of the vernacular furniture of New England.  Respected collectors like Henry Francis DuPont and Nina Fletcher Little, legendary dealers like Roger Bacon and Lillian Blankley Cogan, and decorative arts museums from Winterthur to the Concord Museum all owe a debt to Russell Kettell.

Kettell’s aesthetic is easy to recognize: a slanting ray of sun across the scrubbed maple top of a tavern table, pewter plates on the scalloped shelves of a corner cupboard, feather-edged boards and black iron hinges. These elements spoke to Kettell of integrity, simplicity and frugality, and it was these qualities he celebrated in his publications and in his collecting. Distinguished by honest paint surfaces, worn edges and corners, and the marks of handtools, it is a look that is familiar and popular today.

The Museum is grateful to Hollis Brodrick and Sharon Platt who helped us bring together objects, many never before exhibited, which add new knowledge to the furniture-making traditions first described in the pages of Russell Kettell’s The Pine Furniture of Early New England. 

The Concord Museum will draw on its own collection – Russell Kettell donated more than 1000 pieces from his own collection to the Museum – and several private collections to illustrate Kettell’s aesthetic. Included in the exhibition are boxes, tables, candlestands, looking glasses, six-board cases, cupboards, hanging shelves, ceramics and metalware that exemplify the American style associated with Russell Kettell -  still influential after more than seventy years.

"Peacock Weathervane," New England, 19th century, Painted pine, iron nails, M320, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection

"Looking Glass," Boston, mid 18th century, Wood, pine, mirrored glass, F1079, Gift of Mr. Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection

Box and Six Board Chest, Top: Hampton, New Hampshire, 1680-1715, Private Collection
Bottom: Hampton, New Hampshire, 1680-1715, Pine, F1085, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection

"Whirlygig" America, 19th century, Painted pine, M318, Gift of Russell H. Kettell, Concord Museum Collection

Dates to Remember:

• Be Our Guest. Sundays, January 13 and 20, 2008. Admission-Free Sundays. Winter evenings are a perfect time to visit the Museum. Bring family, friends or out of town guests to visit our nationally recognized collection. Free admission from 1:00-4:00 PM.

• Exhibition Opening Reception
  Thursday, January 31 
  Preview the Museum’s newest, ground-breaking exhibition focused on the contribution of Russell Kettell to American decorative arts. 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.; for Museum Members only.
  
  

• Afternoon Tea, American Style. Every Thursday, Friday, and Satruday in Febrary and March. Bring a friend, neighbor or family member on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for warming tea and delicious sweets in the Concord Museum's elegant Brooke hall. 1:00 - 3:00 PM; $15 tea; $20 tea & Museum admission. On a walk-in, space available basis.
  
  

• Gallery Talk with Curator David Wood.
  Sunday, February 3rd. 2:00 PM. Reservations requested. Free with admission, Members free.

• Museum Story Hour. Friday, February 8th, 1:00 PM. Children ages 3 -5 with an adult are introduced to the book I Love Tools by Philemon Sturges. Led by a Museum educator, the story hour includes a book-related craft activity and a snack.  $8 Adult/Child pair, $5 Member pair. Reservations required. (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• American Style Woodworking Workshop #1: Wall Box with Drawer
  Saturday, February 23rd. Master Craftsman and teacher John Barron guides, instructs and inspires as you make an American Style family heirloom that will be treasured for years to come.  No woodworking skills are needed…just a "real love of making things." This wonderful box, based on Plate 3 in Kettell’s The Pine Furniture of Early New England, is just right for storing all manner of today’s odds and ends—keys, mail, iPod and cellphone. 11:00-2:00; $70 Members; $90 Nonmembers, includes materials/tools; by reservation, (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture.
  "Form, Function & Fashion in Early American Furniture"
  Thursday, February 28. Elisabeth Garrett Widmer, author, educator and consultant to museums nationally, presents the 2008 Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture.  Well-known as a dynamic lecturer on fine and decorative arts and American social history, Elisabeth Garrett Widmer is the author of the award-winning At Home: The American Family 1750-1870.  She has served in positions at Strawbery Banke Museum, the D.A.R. Museum, Christie's, Sotheby's and The Magazine Antiques. Afternoon Tea organized by the Concord Museum Guild of Volunteers follows the illustrated lecture.1:00 PM; $26; $20 Members; by reservation, (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• "Wood: Craft, Culture, History" •  presented by Harvey Green. Sunday, March 2
  Whether you care about wood's utility or its decorative potential, about the art of turning or the botany of the baseball bat, this lecture will be of interest for all who prize wood as a substance, appreciate its amazing history, or are concerned about its future. Harvey Green is a professor of history at Northeastern University in Boston and works in wood at his shop in rural New Hampshire. He is a two-time Fulbright Scholar and the author of three books on American material culture. 2:00 PM; $15; $10 Members; by reservation.
  
  
  

• Museum Story Hour. Friday, March 7th, 1:00 PM. Children ages 3 -5 with an adult are introduced to the book Hammer Soup by the Shuberts. Led by a Museum educator, the story hour includes a book-related craft activity and a snack.  $8 Adult/Child pair, $5 Member pair. Reservations required. (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• American Style Blacksmithing Workshop. Saturday, March 8.
  In collaboration with iron craftsman and artist Carl Close, Jr. of Hammersmith Studios, this three-hour class introduces you to the world of forging and blacksmithing. Create a colonial-style wall hook and hand forged nail to take home, similar to those in the Museum’s Kettell collection. No experience is necessary.  The workshop will be held at Hammersmith Studios in West Concord. 9:00 - noon; $70 Members; $80 Nonmembers; all tools and materials provided; by reservation, (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• American Style Woodworking Workshop #2: Cradle
  Saturday, March 29th. In the second of three workshops, join Master Craftsman and teacher John Barron as he guides, instructs and inspires as you make an American Style family heirloom that will be treasured for years to come. Based on a cradle from the 1770s and illustrated in Plate 220 in Kettell’s book, this treasured piece of furniture will be passed down through generations of your own family.10:00-4:00; $120 Members; $140 Nonmembers, includes all materials and tools; by reservation, (978) 369-9763. No woodworking skills are needed…just a "real love of making things."
  
  

• Museum Story Hour. Friday, April 11th, 1:00 PM. Children ages 3 -5 with an adult are introduced to the book There's Always Room for One More by the Shuberts. Led by a Museum educator, the story hour includes a book-related craft activity and a snack.  $8 Adult/Child pair, $5 Member pair. Reservations required. (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• American Style Woodworking Workshop #3: Small Six-board Chest
  Saturday, April 12th. In the final Woodworking Workshop, join Master Craftsman and teacher John Barron as he guides, instructs and inspires as you make an American Style family heirloom that will be treasured for years to come. Bring along your favorite young person to learn basic woodcraft and build this traditional-style chest, shown in Kettell’s furniture book in Plate 30.  Just right for keepsakes, this chest might be the perfect Mother’s Day gift!  10:00-12:00; child age 10-16, accompanied by an adult; $70 Members; $90 Nonmembers; includes materials/tools; by reservation, (978) 369-9763.
  
  

• Museum Story Hour. Friday, May 9th, 1:00 PM. Children ages 3 -5 with an adult are introduced to the book Workshop by Andrew Clements. Led by a Museum educator, the story hour includes a book-related craft activity and a snack.  $8 Adult/Child pair, $5 Member pair. Reservations required. (978) 369-9763.
  
  

For prices and more information about these and additional programs, check the Online Calendar.  To make reservations, please call the Museum office at (978) 369-9763.