Early Arts and Crafts societies in cities such as Boston, Chicago, and New York gathered to hear speakers reveal the evils of the Industrial Revolution and applaud the virtues of the simple life, one lived among handcrafted furnishings which William Morris described as those “you know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.”

Following in that tradition, the National Arts and Crafts Conference was founded in 1988 as a three-day educational event for Arts and Crafts collectors. It was built on a foundation of seminars presented by researchers, authors, craftsmen, and scholars.

In no particular order, the 2024 speakers scheduled to appear at the 2024 conference are:

Hist-Ohr-y: The Last Chapter of George Ohr and a New Beginning

by David Rago

Homespun Heroines: Eleanor Vance, Charlotte Yale, and the Biltmore Industries Legacy

by Bruce Johnson

 “Partners in Beauty”:

The Boys, the Art & the Joy of Cathedral Oaks

by Dr. Richard Mohr

Masterpieces of Simple Design:

The Furniture of the Two Red Roses Collection

by Andrea Morgan, Director of Collections at

The Museum of the American Arts & Crafts Movement

 


The Butterfly Effect:

Adelaide Alsop Robineau’s Empowering Effects on the World of Ceramics and Beyond

by Garth Johnson

Stickley’s Craftsman Homes and the People Who Built Them

by Ray Stubblebine

“Hokusai’s Oeuvre”

by Patti Bourgeois

A special presentation ahead of the Saturday Evening Movie “Tom Killion’s Journey to Hokusai”

Patti will discuss Hokusai’s ‘Manga[ ( first coined by Hokusai to describe his sketches) because he began sketching at an early age and his ‘oeuvre’ clearly developed from his manga sketches, which consumed his days and nights most all of his life…he was always striving to be a great artist…stating near the end of his life ‘…if heaven would grant me ten more years, I shall become a real painter.’

The Saturday Evening Movie is free to the general public with admission paid by the non-profit Arts & Crafts Research Fund.