Tags: Arts and Crafts Movement, Furniture, Chicago, Morris, Ashbee, Stickley, Wright

From last November through this January, The Apostles of Beauty exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago showcased some of the finest examples of Arts and Crafts era furniture. 

Unfortunately, the exhibit has just ended, but you can still enjoy it through a beautiful full color, hard cover book.  The following video on the Art Institute website provides a nice overview as well.   

One nice aspect to seeing this collection in the city was that we could see pieces from the movement’s beginnings in England and its transitions all the way to Chicago, where our own Frank Lloyd Wright contributed and altered the appearance and philosophy of the Craftsman tradition. 

Personally, I was struck by the combination of ideals and craftsmanship that is sometimes absent in aesthetic design. And lastly, I will say that I was reminded about fairness in the economy of goods – to paraphrase Charles Robert Ashbee; Uphold a standard of work and life both for the product and the producer.

 ~Josh