Fireplace Hood
Item
Title
Fireplace Hood
Creator
Craftsman Workshops
Date
1911 (ca.)
Medium
Copper and iron
Credit line
Conservation of the Fireplace Hoods was made possible by a grant from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund and a generous gift in memory of Vykki Mende Gray.
Description
Like many in the Arts and Crafts movement, Stickley believed that the hearth was an essential component of the home that served a number of functions, ranging from the aesthetic to the practical to the social. As The Craftsman informed readers in June 1903:
As the heart is to the human body, so is the fireplace to the home. From it flows the sustaining power of family life… This spot should be the most attractive of the home. It should be expressive of the comfort and offer the sensuous pleasure which is derived from the presence of good form, pleasing color and a harmonious assemblage of materials.
The quote–The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne–is from Chaucer's late-14th century poem "Parlement of Foules" and served as the motto for The Craftsman magazine.
As the heart is to the human body, so is the fireplace to the home. From it flows the sustaining power of family life… This spot should be the most attractive of the home. It should be expressive of the comfort and offer the sensuous pleasure which is derived from the presence of good form, pleasing color and a harmonious assemblage of materials.
The quote–The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne–is from Chaucer's late-14th century poem "Parlement of Foules" and served as the motto for The Craftsman magazine.