Together we made it happen!

Thanks to your gifts and the gifts of hundreds of generous supporters like you, we met our December goals and were awarded the $7,500 challenge grant!  Overall 2011 annual fund donations totaled $94,000 in support of educational programs, building care and maintenance, and the day-to-day operations of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.

 Your 2011 support:

•  Helped protect and preserve a National Historic Landmark;
• Introduced thousands of children to a world of history and culture;
• Gave visitors with limited mobility opportunities new ways to participate;
• Offered emerging scholars an opportunity to present original research;
• Produced original research;
• Developed an all-day symposium;
• Brought visiting scholars;
• Created the Stickley Design Invitational for talented teens;
• Welcomed bus tours from senior centers;
• Piloted an artist’s residency program;
• Sustained a high-quality cultural resource;
• Helped us receive the New Jersey Historical Commission’s 2011 Award of Recognition!

 We couldn’t have done it without you!

 Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Thank you! Our Challenge Grant Was a Success! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Dr. Jonathan Clancy will speak at our Forging Ahead Forum on Saturday, October 15 at Mountain Lakes Community Church. His talk, entitled Forging a Useable Past: Scholars, Scholarship, and the Arts and Crafts, will consider the potential for scholarship to inform the present as it illuminates the past. His presentation will include information about the Emerging Scholars Symposium. This annual conference, launched in 2011, is devoted to the work of up-and-coming scholars and is a collaboration between Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. Clancy will discuss the objectives of the conference and its direction for 2012.

Dr. Jonathan Clancy is Director of the American Fine and Decorative Arts Program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. His publications include The Beauty of Common Things: American Art Pottery from the Two Red Roses Foundation (2008), Warman’s Rookwood Pottery (2008), and numerous articles in journals such as Modern Craft, The Journal of Design History, and Style 1900. His recent work has spanned a variety of subjects including: John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark, Martin Johnson Heade’s early career, and Gustav Stickley’s metal wares. At present, he is directing a cataloging project for the paintings at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, Rhode Island.

Dr. Jonathan Clancy to Speak About Arts & Crafts Scholarship is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Today the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms announced the launch of Blue Star Museums, a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and more than 600 other museums across America to offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2010.

The Blue Star Museums program runs from Memorial Day, May 31 through to Labor Day, September 6, 2010.  The free admission program is available to active duty military and their immediate family members (military ID holder and five immediate family members), which includes active duty Reserve and active duty National Guard.

About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is a national, non-partisan, non-profit network of military families from all ranks and services including guard and reserve, with a mission to support, connect and empower military families.  In addition to morale and empowerment programs, Blue Star Families raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life with civilian community and leaders.  Membership includes spouses, kids, parents, service members, veterans and civilians.

Operation Appreciation is an initiative of Blue Star Families that seeks to connect military families to the larger community.  Blue Star Families 2009 annual survey shows that 94 percent of military families feel that the larger community doesn’t truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices we make for the country.  Through initiatives such as Blue Star Museums, Blue Star Families provides avenues for the larger community to show that they do understand, in meaningful ways that enrich the lives of military service members, spouses, children and parents.  For more information, please visit BlueStarFam.org

About the National Endowment for the Arts

The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education.  Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit Arts.gov.

“America’s museums are proud to join the rest of the country in thanking our military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifice,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman. “I cannot imagine a better way to do that than welcoming them in to explore and enjoy the extraordinary cultural heritage our museums present.”

The Stickley Museum is proud to partner with Blue Star Families and the National Endowment for the Arts on this nationwide project to show our appreciation for the sacrifices military families make and to offer them opportunities for education, entertainment, and family fun.

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms to Participate in Blue Star Museums is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Families are invited to our 3rd annual Spring Family Day on Saturday, May 1 from 12-4 p.m. Children can ride a pony, make giant bubbles at the bubble station, try old-fashioned games and races, and make May crowns, pinwheels, and other crafts.  All ages are invited to gather around the Maypole to learn the springtime tradition of Maypole dancing or take part in the cakewalk, featuring prizes from local bakeries and ice cream shops, including Atlanta Bread, Denville Dairy, Hot Bread, MaggieMoo’s, Mara’s Café and Bakery, and Panera Bread. Stickley Museum tours designed for children will be at offered.  And you won’t want to pass up fresh cookies, treats, and special discounts on Museum baseball caps.

Admission fees to Spring Family Day are $5 for Member Children or $7 Non Member Children; $7 for Adults.  In an effort to defray the costs for full family groups, adults accompanying children will be admitted free.

In the event of rain, call 973-540-0311 to confirm that the outdoor event will run as scheduled.

This event is made possible by a generous grant from the Kiwanis Foundation of Greater Parsippany.

Join Us for Spring Family Day! is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Please join us on Saturday, April 24th at 6:00 pm for a very special event. Gary Fisch, CEO & Founder of Gary’s Wine & Marketplace and his colleague David Marshall will speak about the craft of wine making and how it relates to Craftsman Farms.

Gary travels the world to learn more about emerging wine markets, conduct seminars and wine tastings across the US and hosts world-renowned winemakers and writers at in-store signings tastings and dinners. Known to many as the “wine guy” from more than 50 episodes of The Food Network’s “Hot Off the Grill”, Bobby Flay chose Gary as his on-camera wine and spirits expert because of his acute awareness of wine and beverage trends. Gary’s expansive knowledge base makes him one of the few truly hands-on experts who knows virtually every aspect of the wine industry. As an expert in all that is wine and spirits, Gary says he’s been on a mission to demystify the wine tasting and buying experience for more than 20 years.

Immediately following the lecture, you will have an opportunity to taste a variety of wines and ask Gary questions you may have.

To purchase your ticket for this special event,
shaigler@stickleymuseum.org
$40 per person
Advance reservation required

Join Us For A Wine Tasting is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

On Saturday, March 13, from 5-7 p.m., the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will present a fascinating demonstration by the Roving Press, an outreach program of the Printmaking Council of New Jersey.   Professional printmaker, Greta Anderson, will offer an introductory demonstration to monotype printmaking.  Monotype printmaking is a process where inks are applied to a smooth surface plate using rollers, paintbrushes, or rags.  Paper is then laid over the plate and run through an etching press or pressed by hand, creating an exciting one-of-a-kind print.   All participants will be invited to try their hand and pull a print of their own to take home.

The Printmaking Council of New Jersey (PCNJ) is a non-profit fine arts center specializing in print and paper media.  For the past 35 years, the Council has provided activities, events and classes that nurture an appreciation for the fine art of printmaking.

Printmaker Greta Anderson is an accomplished painter and printmaker and teaches specialized programs throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. She has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and her works can be seen, amongst others, in the exhibitions of Johnson & Johnson Corp., Pfizer Corp., the Newark Public Library and the Montclair Art Museum. She received her BFA degree from Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts and her MFA degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

The event is in honor of the members of the Craftsman Guild, whose annual support has a significant impact on the operations of the Stickley Museum.   Light refreshments will be served.  Guests will also have the opportunity to view or purchase original signed and numbered prints commissioned by the Museum and created by Laura Wilder, Dorothy Markert, and Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Free to donors at the Craftsman Guild level

$10 Members; $15 Non Members

Advance tickets required

For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 973-530-0311

Stickley Museum Offers Hands-On Printmaking Workshop is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6  & December 12-13 from 11-4 p.m.

Visitors are invited to stroll through the house and enjoy the candlelight and Christmas decorations at their own pace. The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms will be all decked out for the holidays as Stickley and his family would have decorated it in 1915.  The Christmas tree will sparkle with Bavarian glass ornaments that were the fashion at the time the Log House was built.  Evergreen garlands festoon the staircase and poinsettias, which Stickley described as “the Christmas Flaming Star,” will brighten the three fireplaces.

HOLIDAY CARDS: An exhibition of approximately 40 recently acquired vintage holiday postcards from the period will be on display along with an accompanying text.

LIVE MUSIC: Holiday music from the period completes the open house atmosphere.  On both Saturdays from 1:30 – 3:30 pianist John Baratta will perform authentic period music on the antique piano in the Stickley’s living room.  On both Sundays at 2:00 the Community Theater Performing Arts Company will sing holiday favorites and lead family sing-alongs!

ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN: Daily changing activities will be based on holiday celebrations in the early 1900’s and will include special times for children to make paper chain garlands and string popcorn.  On both Saturdays at 11:30 Children ages 6 -9 are invited to a special Story Hour concluding with a special Christmas-tree craft project.

CRAFTS: A trunk show featuring the high quality work of present day artisans from around the country will be open both weekends for your shopping pleasure.  These crafts include pottery, woodwork, jewelry, papermaking, block prints and more.  The exceptional work reflects the ethics of the Arts and crafts movement.

REFRESHMENTS: Gingerbread cookies and hot cider round out the open house atmosphere.

ALL-INCLUSIVE ADMISSION: Members: $4 Non-members: $8 (Free to children age 2 and under)

Join us for the Holiday Open House is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

“For Gustav Stickley and other American Arts & Crafts designers the word ‘Mission’ contained a variety of meanings. Initially Stickley embraced the word and published articles promoting it along with calling his furniture ‘Mission Style.’ However in time he abandoned it, perhaps to distinguish himself from other furniture makers.”  So states, Dr. Richard Guy Wilson, who will be the featured speaker at the Stickley Museum’s 2nd Annual Amy Stahl Lecture at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 14.

Wilson also suggests that use of the term “‘Mission’ was an attempt to distinguish the American Arts & Crafts from English and European sources. Mission styled furniture, ironware, pottery and buildings became commonplace in the 1890s and 1900s throughout the United States as the Arts & Crafts took hold. The word also implied reform and fit in with the intent that product design and production along with much more political issues were part of the Arts & Crafts mission.”

Richard Guy Wilson holds the Commonwealth Professor’s Chair in Architectural History at the University of Virginia (Thomas Jefferson’s University) in Charlottesville, Virginia. His specialty is the architecture, design and art of the 18th to the 20th century both in America and abroad. He was a visiting fellow at Cambridge University, England during the Winter-Spring 2007.  He received his undergraduate training at the University of Colorado and MA and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.

Wilson has received a number of academic honors, among them a Guggenheim fellow, prizes for distinguished writing, and in 1986 he was made an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He received the outstanding professor award at the University of Virginia in 2001. He has directed the Victorian Society’s Nineteenth Century Summer School since 1979. He has served as an advisor and commentator for a number of television programs on PBS and A&E, most significantly over sixty-five segments of America’s Castles.

A frequent lecturer for universities, museums and professional groups, he has also published widely with many articles and reviews to his credit. Wilson has been the curator and author for major museum exhibitions such as The American Renaissance, 1876-1917; The Art that is Life:  The Arts and Crafts Movement in America; The Machine Age in America, 1918-1941 and The Making of Virginia Architecture.

He is the author or joint author of 16 books that deal with American and modern architecture which include studies of McKim, Mead & White, Thomas Jefferson’s design of the University of Virginia, Monument Ave in Richmond, the AIA Gold Medal, a contribution to the recent book on RM Schindler (2001), and principle author and editor of the Society of Architectural Historians book, Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont (2002). His The Colonial Revival House was published in the fall of 2004 and Harbor Hill: Portrait of House was published in 2008.  Following the lecture Wilson will sign copies of this most recent book, which  explores Harbor Hill, a lavish mansion designed by Stanford White and built in the early 1900s on Long Island.

For tickets or to receive further information, please contact the museum at 973-540-0311 or education@stickleymuseum.org

To download the registration form, please click here.

Amy Stahl Lecture and Book Signing:
by Richard Guy Wilson
Sat., Nov. 14 at 4:00
$10 Members
$12 Non Members

What is Mission? Are you curious about this term in architecture and design? is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

Travel Everywhere! discusses the Must-See Museums in Morris County, NJ, including the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms:

Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms is the only house Gustav Stickley, the foremost spokesman for the American Arts and Crafts Movement, designed and built for himself. Stickley, known for his Mission furniture, revolutionized American decorative arts.

The log house, built in 1911, is one of the most significant landmarks of the American Arts and Crafts movement, and the site, which consists of 30 acres of the original 650-acre tract, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The focal point of Stickley’s “Garden of Eden” was a large log house constructed of round, hewn chestnut logs that were cut from the property’s woods and local stone also found on the property.

Via 3 Marvelous, Must-See Museums in Morris County, New Jersey | Travel Everywhere!

Must-See In Morris County is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms

The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms is hosting a Fall Members’ Reception and Book Launch for the new edition of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Farms: A Pictorial History, on Saturday, October 24, 4:00 p.m.

This edition was funded by a special project grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission. The book was edited by the noted Stickley scholar, David Cathers, and contains historic photographs, plus commentary reprinted from Stickley’s own magazine, The Craftsman. Numerous experts on Gustav Stickley and the Arts and Crafts movement have contributed original essays. This edition also features an entirely new essay by Mark Alan Hewitt which sets the history of Craftsman Farms in the context of New Jersey history and a new essay by Dr. Robert Winter which sets the history of the Farms in the broader context of U.S. history.

The reception will also feature a special lecture by Pat Bartinique who will speak on The Story in a New Voice: Music and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Light refreshments will be served and tours of the Log House will be available.

Museum Members are free with RSVP. Non-members ticket price is $12. Please call 973-540-0311 for reservations or further information

Stickley Museum Hosts Book Launch Reception and Lecture is a post from The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms