Arts Crafts Style

26 Jul, 2008 in art pottery by admin

Arts Crafts Style

Mission Style Lighting - It's Timeless Beauty Continues

Mission Style Lighting - It's Timeless Beauty Continues

If you ask most people to tell you about Mission Style lighting you are likely to be met with a blank stare and shrugged shoulders.Visit here http://promhair-styles.blogspot.com

But, if you ask these same people if they have ever heard of the Arts & Crafts Style, you are probably going to see a lot more recognize this term. The truth is, these terms are virtually synonymous.

Around the turn of the twentieth century in 1912, a little known Wisconsin architect by the name of Frank Lloyd Wright began developing his Prairie School architecture that would eventually set him on the path to world renown. The Prairie School architecture was really a slight variation on the Arts & Crafts—or Craftsman as it is also known—Style which had been developed by others a few years earlier.

Mission Style, as it is now known, is typified by exacting straight lines in rectangles and squares with an emphasis on woodwork. Mission Style lamps and light fixtures were constructed for use in modern applications such as gas and electric power sources. Typically made from brass or iron, these Mission Style lighting fixtures were constructed with square glass shades and square brass tubing. Fixtures of this particular style literally were made to match the architecture of the house contributing to a synergy between home and furnishings. Table and floor lamps of the Mission Style as it is now called were constructed with a simple elegance. It was not uncommon to see basic shapes forged out of iron and copper and linked to bulky chains in fixtures in the Mission Style. Lamps constructed with square wooden bases with simple but elegant glass shades were common in the time period. Basically, the characteristics inherent to this style were functionality, simplicity, and quality craftsmanship. Mission Style fixtures were not elegant in the classic sense but nor were they fragile and easily broken.

The popularity of the Arts & Crafts or Mission Style continued to grow until the early to mid 1930's. After World War II, a surge in consumerism and a fickle taste in the culture contributed to the waning popularity of Mission Style lamps and lighting. This is not to say that the style ever truly disappeared from the design scene but it definitely took a back seat to the growing emergence of the Contemporary Style that began to take root after WWII which emphasized that function was paramount. This seems contradictory as functionality was a key component of Mission Style fixtures and design but the rustic appearance inherent to the Arts & Crafts Style could not compete with the smooth, flowing lines of contemporary designs nor the discounted prices of mass production and lower cost materials used by competing styles.Visit here http://promhair-styles.blogspot.com

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Visit here http://promhair-styles.blogspot.com

What style is cedar chest with two- toned carvings on the front, simple, abstract floral design?

Can't remember what style the dealer said- it was the end of auction and he was a little tired, too.
Thought he said Craftsman or Arts & Crafts.
It is Lane cedar chest, putting it at after 1912. This would not be true Arts and Crafts, from what I've seen on the net.
The font on the insurance label which is stapled inside looks more like the 1940's to me.
I am such a novice, though, and other than this, have little idea what year or style.
I e-mailed the company but since I am not looking to buy, I am unsure whether the response will come.
Again, the identifying features of the style are basically the carved floral design and the carved border on the bottom, of a somewhat fleur-de-lis pattern with widened circle-like ovals between them, and the fact that there is a definite two-tone quality to the front panel.
Also, there are legs rounded as you might do with a lathe, and the lid of the chest is beveled.
Thank you for any pointers you can give on this!

Deco or Moderne

Part 1 - Arts and Crafts Style Round Table - Stickley #603