Overview of the Arts and Crafts (Craftsman) Movement
Gustav Stickley
1858-1942Gustav Stickley created the first truly American furniture, known throughout the world as Craftsman. A hardworking, dedicated man, Stickley achieved success in the early 1900s as the leader of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America.
Gustav Stickley (originally Gustave, with an e ) was born on March 9, 1858, to German immigrant parents. He went to work while still a child, earning his journeyman's license in stonemasonry at the age of 12. When his father deserted the family in the 1870's, Gustav, the eldest child in a large family, became their sole support.
In 1875, he was given a job in his uncle's chair factory, where he soon realized that this -- working in wood -- was what he was meant to do. And so, in 1884, he left his uncle's employ along with his younger brothers, Charles and Albert, to start his own retail and wholesale furniture business, the Stickley Furniture Company, in Binghamton, New York.
After a trip to England in 1898 Stickley was inspired by British reformers, John Ruskin and William Morris, to create a new line of handcrafted furniture based on honesty and simplicity.In 1899, at the age of 41, he formed the Gustav Stickley Company, from which his Craftsman line of furniture would be born. Eventually a host of additional household furnishings were produced and sold through Stickley's catalogues, including lighting fixtures, textiles, metalware, and leather work, all given the name Craftsman, in an effort to create an entire decorative environment
His trip to the 1900 Paris Exhibition confirmed his bias against reproductions. While taking his philosophical inspiration from the Arts & Crafts European movement, Stickley took his artistic inspiration from America.
Not only did he design furniture, but homes as well. And to showcase his designs he began publishing his own monthly guide to better living. In October 1901, he began publication of "The Craftsman." The first issue dedicated to William Morris, and the second issue dedicated to John Ruskin. Each month, Craftsman would feature furniture and architectural plans for the ideal craftsman life. The publication became the voice of the American Arts & Crafts movement.
Like William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright, both of whom stressed the need for furnishings to fit the homes they were in, Stickley designed homes to fit the furniture he created. Simple "Craftsman-style" homes -- often no more than a few spacious rooms whose only ornamentation consisted of beautiful natural woodwork and room dividers along with a stone or brick hearth. An abundance of windows to let in natural light was also important since sunlight cast an entirely different light than gas and electric lights.
Sources:
Examples:
- 5 pieces - Private collection, Western NY