It was the "most democratic of art movements," the
American Civic Association declared in 1906, in the wake of the rapid spread of
Arts and Crafts ideals across the country [1. Mrs. M.E. Johnson, "Arts and
Crafts," Leaflet No. 10, Department Pamphlet No. 4-I, American Civic
Association, Department of Arts and Crafts, 1906, P. 1 ] Americans were subscribing to dozens
of periodicals devoted to Arts and Crafts concerns, joining hundreds of Arts
and Crafts societies, and taking classes at a bewildering variety of summer
schools, night schools, design schools, and settlement houses. They also viewed
the works of craftsmen from all over the world at international expositions
(see no. 6) and at exhibitions sponsored by societies and schools. These agents
of dissemination affected amateurs as well as professionals, consumers and
appreciators as well as makers.
After a brief overview of books, periodicals, and Arts and Crafts
societies, this essay focuses on the role of education in spreading Arts and
Crafts ideology — and practice. Manual training programs in the public schools
and the British-inspired methodology taught at American design schools, topics
not covered elsewhere in this catalogue, were crucial in shaping an
understanding of the crafts among artists, art workers, hobbyists, and the
general public.
Source: Wendy Kaplan, "Spreading the Crafts: The Role of the Schools", in wnedy Kaplan, ed., "The Art That is Life": The Arts and Crafts Movement in America, 1875-1920 Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, page 298
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