The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms and the American Fine and
Decorative Arts Program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art seek submissions
for the Third Annual Conference for Emerging Scholars to be held in
October 2013:

 “Integrating Art and Life: Idealism, economics, and the Arts and

Crafts Movement”

Writing in the March 1902 issue of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman
magazine, A. M. Simpson told readers: “Unless the production of the
necessities of life can be made beautiful, pleasurable and
instructive, our whole society must remain disorganized,
disintegrated, and productive of pain, and inartistic… What is needed
at the present time is a process of synthesis and correlation.”  This
aspect of modern life that the Arts and Crafts movement sought to
correct—the tension between economic viability and a satisfied,
artistic life—remained a constant concern for producers throughout the
period.  This conference seeks papers that explore the different
aspects of this issue, including (but not limited to) whether
producers were able to meet these lofty goals?  Were these goals
shared by everyone?  How did the movement’s aesthetics shape
perception about these products and the ideas behind them?

We invite current graduate students and recently graduated scholars to
submit papers that critically examine this issue.  Please direct any
questions to:

Jonathan Clancy
Director, American Fine and Decorative Arts Program
Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York
jonathan.clancy@sia.edu