Handmade: The Crafting of America

Discover the story of American craftsmanship in Handmade: The Crafting of America. From practical beginnings to bold, modern expressions, this exhibition traces the evolution of craft and celebrates human creativity. Each artifact — some shown publicly for the first time — reveals a narrative of resilience, resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit. Explore why we make, how we innovate and the people we create for.

Handmade: The Crafting of America is divided into four key areas:

• Folk Art and Craft
  Stories of community, entrepreneurship, cultural identity and individual eccentricity are told through the diversity of American craft.


• The Shakers
  An example of a uniquely American community, the Shakers were a 19th-century religious group who believed in prayer through work. This belief resulted in exquisite crafts made in a variety of materials.


• The Arts and Crafts Movement
  The Arts and Crafts movement sought to revive handcraft as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, which completely transformed America during the middle of the 19th century. The movement raised the importance of high-quality, handcrafted items and a return to traditional craftsmanship.


• Modern Craft in the 20th and 21st centuries
  Craft persists as a creative endeavor through the industrial reality of the past 120 years, reflecting the values and concerns of society.

Over 100 craft objects make up the exhibition, many of which haven't been on public display in decades or at all. We encourage visitors to spend time with all the artifacts while keeping a particular eye out for certain highlights, such as the work of the African American ceramic entrepreneur, Thomas Commeraw, The Saturday Evening Girls Pottery, items from the utopian Roycrofter community and the extraordinary pictorial hooked rugs of Iowan farmer Emeline Miner.