Where can you go to see about 50 works of art from the Arts and Crafts Movement, not only from around the country but also from Europe and the UK? The Detroit Institute of Arts! The DIA has a marvelous collection of Arts and Crafts objects, recently re- installed in the American Wing and promoted during the Arts and Crafts Symposium which took place in March.

From the great-grandfather of the Arts and Crafts Movement (A.W.N. Pugin), to the European expression of the Wiener Werkstatte, to the broad, coast-to-coast U.S. contribution, the collection is an opportunity to sample the best of the Movement.

Although the collection resides in the American wing at the museum, there are objects from across the U.S. as well as the United Kingdom and Europe. This was deliberate on the part of the DIA, which now groups objects in context of both time and place.

Michigan artists represented include Mary Chase Perry Stratton (Pewabic Pottery), with several wonderful pieces of pottery (and her architectural tiles are installed in several places around the museum) and a Stickley Brothers of Grand Rapids copper bowl.

Some other must-see pieces:

• Dining table by Greene and Greene, designed for the Blacker House in Pasadena, California (notice the inlay of copper, silver and mother of pearl)

• The Indian vase by Adelaide Robineau, an influential potter from New York who was a contemporary of Mary Stratton. This piece is an example of Ms Robineau’s famed excise work.

• The Garden Seat by A.W.N Pugin from around the middle of the 19th century in England. Pugin was an architect who greatly influenced William Morris and felt that the best architecture came from the Middle Ages.
• The Trefoil Vase from the Grueby Faience Pottery Company from around 1905. Grueby was located in Boston and was famous for not only pottery, but also architectural tiles. This vase is representative of its renowned matte-green glaze.
• Silver and furniture by Josef Hoffman from Vienna

The DIA was established in 1885, around the time that the Arts and Crafts Movement was gaining popularity in the U.S. In many ways, the way the museum has acquired its Arts and Crafts pieces reflects the country’s interest in the Movement. Many pieces were acquired in the early 20th century, when the Movement was at its peak in the U.S. and were donated by such important Detroit art patrons as George Booth (Detroit News) and Charles Freer (of the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC). Then there was a long hiatus, until around the 1980’s, when new acquisitions began to be made, just as the revival began taking hold. The collection provides the Arts and Crafts student an appreciation of the breadth of the decorative arts in the movement and is definitely worth the trip.

Of course, the Detroit Institute of Arts is one of the largest, most significant art museums in the United States with many important works of art housed in an architecturally important building. It has recently undergone a multi-million dollar renovation and is truly one of the gems of the city.

For more information about the DIA, visit www.dia.org.