Ted Lytwyn and his wife, Cara
Corbo, had a relatively easy mission: find furniture for their home. But what
began as a simple need evolved into a 30-year passion for the Arts and Crafts
movement.
 | WHILE MANY Arts and Crafts pieces are considered little more than quaint antiques, others command six figures. An armchair made by Greene and Greene sold for $913,000 at auction in June. (Photograph by Sotheby's.) |
Price records for Craftsman items were shattered earlier this
year when a one-off armchair sold for $913,000 and a vase for $516,000. But
while the best—and rarest—commissioned items sell for five and six figures, many
pieces from the period bring in less-than-stellar prices, a situation that can
be either bane or blessing, depending on what a collector is looking for.
The American Arts and Crafts movement began in the closing
years of the 19th century and segued into the early 20th, during a period of
extensive social change. Electricity, automobiles, planes and moving pictures
were changing lifestyles. In architecture, the new Craftsman design eschewed the
ornate gingerbread of the Queen Anne style, emphasizing instead minimalist
lines. Today, from tiny to grand, the Arts and Crafts bungalows of the early
century still dot the American landscape.
Inside the home, Craftsman design encompassed all
elements—furniture, lighting, even dishware. The lavish displays of Victorian
decor gave way to simple pottery and metalwork; belongings that once would have
been on display were now tucked away in built-in cabinets, bookcases and seats.
However, "minimalist" did not mean "stark." In walls and furniture, the joinery
was celebrated via touches such as wedges. And lines, though simple, exuded
artistry in their angles and intertwining. Today’s Mission furniture is a
direct descendant of the style.
VALUE JUDGMENT
Arts and Crafts items run the gamut from fur-niture to lighting to
pot-tery, and prices can vary just as much. While top pieces have broken records
in recent years, less unique items still sell for rather unimpressive amounts.
Condition is often critical, particularly when it comes to furniture. Experts
say the best opportunities these days can be found in pottery, where prices have
steadily risen. |
Among Arts and Crafts architects, brothers Charles and Henry
Greene possess astral status. The best example of their work is the Gamble House
in Pasadena, Calif., built in 1908 as the winter residence of Procter &
Gamble’s David and Mary Gamble, who lived the rest of the year in Cincinnati.
The Greenes used repeating themes such as bisecting lines and climbing roses
throughout the home.
They also designed most of the house’s furniture and decorative
objects. From the piano to picture frames, lighting to andirons, the same or
complementary patterns were repeated. In those rooms where the Greenes didn’t
design the furnishings, they recommended pieces made by Gustav Stickley, one of
the fathers of the American Craftsman movement. The Gamble House is now jointly
owned by the city of Pasadena and the University of Southern California, and is
open to the public.
The Blacker House, Greene and Greene’s largest commission and a
neighbor of the Gamble House along Pasadena’s Millionaires’ Row, suffered a far
different fate. Like the Gamble home, the Blacker estate’s furniture and
accoutrements were designed specifically for the house. However, much of the
furniture was sold in a lawn sale about 1950, and in 1985 the home was purchased
and stripped of its lighting and leaded-glass windows. In response, the outraged
Pasadena City Council passed an ordinance forbidding the removal of significant
items from a house for which they were commissioned.
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