Steve Branam
Active member
SAPFM member Nick Kotula was unable to post this, so I offered to post it for him:
PERIOD STYLES AND THE ART OF SEEING FURNITURE, WITH A TRIP TO THE WADSWORTH ATHENEUM, from 9:00 to 4:00, October 19, 2013
Knowing the different Period Styles and their history will help you understand furniture as it was intended. Each Period Style has its own vocabulary. There has to be a symbiosis with all the elements. When furniture was built, the cabinetmaker was aware of how the finished product will look to those who are looking at it and buying it. Appraisers, furniture makers, and collectors all need to master this knowledge.
It is as important to learn to see. What is the piece of furniture saying to you? What is the furniture not saying to you. Why is one piece more appealing than another? Each piece has a lot to say to us if we will listen. Learning to see is so important that every beginning art drawing class starts with this concept. Seeing is one of the most important components of creating art. It is important to cultivate the art of seeing.
In the morning we will met at the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum to look deeper into the Period Styles and all the many misconceptions that are associated with them. Think about this. Why is some furniture called Queen Anne? She died in 1614. She never gave one thought to furniture while she was alive. This style only entered London in 1620 six years after she died. Thomas Chippendale book does not show any claw and ball furniture. It was used on furniture 35 years before his book was written during an earlier period. Federal, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton are not period styles but are just part of different style. Many of your clients have studied Art history and know this and will judge you accordingly.
After lunch we will visit the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art to study furniture and to understand how each Period Style gives furniture a different look. We will explore what each piece is saying to us. You will “see” furniture and understand furniture more completely. If you are a furniture maker, this is your chance to learn to make your own furniture sing! There is a vast difference between a furniture piece that has a hard mechanical look and one that is soft and inviting.
Here are a few more thoughts to ponder: What were the social, political, economical, and intellectual changes that were occurring in Europe and especially in America from 1620 to 1840. Think about what the social history of the northern colonies in America was and how it evolved. How the merchant class evolved and how and why they expressed it their home furnishings. These changes influenced how furniture looked and used. After the completion of this course, you will see furniture differently.
Here is the list of what you should bring:
Buy Sotheby’s Concise Encyclopedia of Furniture; 1989, Publisher: Conran Octopus Limited, ISBN-06-016141-8. Familiarize yourself with the first 109 pages. Study the photographs. Everyone who writes a book on Period Styles tries to write a version of the Holy Grail. This book was written to excite the younger crowd into buying antique furniture. I have had twelve semesters of Art History and will eliminate the confusion and hype.
Bring the above book. pen, tablet, and a stiff pad to use under the tablet. Every one will be sitting in side chairs in a half circle around me.
Bring a 10X lens, and a pen light.
Bring your snacks, coffee, and anything else you will need only to the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum.
The morning session will be held at the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum, 37 High Street, Farmington, Connecticut. Park only on the Museum side of the road.
The afternoon session will be held at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Go to the Main Street entrance in Hartford. We will meet at the front desk.
Parking is free on the streets in Hartford on Saturdays and Sundays. The admission to the museum is only TEN dollars.
We will eat lunch at Panera Bread, 2542 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, Ct. located at the corner of North Main Street and Albany Avenue. (You buy.)
The course will start SHARPLY at 9:00 AM and continue until 4:00 PM. Do not be late.
FEE $ 275.00 First come, first served. No refunds after October, 12, 2013. After October 12, 2013 if you can not make it, find someone to take your place. There is a maximum of 12 participants so that everyone will feel free to ask questions.
Send your check to:
Nickolas Kotula
493 Simsbury Road
Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002- 1512
phone: 860 243-1646
My email is: [email protected]
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Nick Kotula has studied wood under a microscope at two different courses at the University of Massachusetts with Professor J. Bruce Hoadley. Besides being an expert in antique furniture as a conservator, appraiser, consultant, and teacher; he was the last apprentice for the widely known Nathan Margolis Shop in Hartford, CT. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS Mech. Engr. Degree and studied furniture conservation at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. He is a furniture conservator for museums and serious collectors. He has taught Wood Identification and other courses all over the United States. In addition, Nick has studied extensively Art History and Studio Art at the University of Hartford, CT.
Unsolicited comments from my last course:
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed meeting you and how much I got out of our class on Saturday. By recognizing the lighter lines of the terminal parenchyma I have already determined, without a shred of doubt!, that a serpentine 4 drawer chest that my wife inherited is not walnut (as previously thought) but mahogany. I look forward to attending some of your classes in the future. Please keep me on your email list.
Charlie Woodworth
I just wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed your wood Id class and am looking forward to other classes you offer.
Doug Smith
PERIOD STYLES AND THE ART OF SEEING FURNITURE, WITH A TRIP TO THE WADSWORTH ATHENEUM, from 9:00 to 4:00, October 19, 2013
Knowing the different Period Styles and their history will help you understand furniture as it was intended. Each Period Style has its own vocabulary. There has to be a symbiosis with all the elements. When furniture was built, the cabinetmaker was aware of how the finished product will look to those who are looking at it and buying it. Appraisers, furniture makers, and collectors all need to master this knowledge.
It is as important to learn to see. What is the piece of furniture saying to you? What is the furniture not saying to you. Why is one piece more appealing than another? Each piece has a lot to say to us if we will listen. Learning to see is so important that every beginning art drawing class starts with this concept. Seeing is one of the most important components of creating art. It is important to cultivate the art of seeing.
In the morning we will met at the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum to look deeper into the Period Styles and all the many misconceptions that are associated with them. Think about this. Why is some furniture called Queen Anne? She died in 1614. She never gave one thought to furniture while she was alive. This style only entered London in 1620 six years after she died. Thomas Chippendale book does not show any claw and ball furniture. It was used on furniture 35 years before his book was written during an earlier period. Federal, Hepplewhite, and Sheraton are not period styles but are just part of different style. Many of your clients have studied Art history and know this and will judge you accordingly.
After lunch we will visit the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art to study furniture and to understand how each Period Style gives furniture a different look. We will explore what each piece is saying to us. You will “see” furniture and understand furniture more completely. If you are a furniture maker, this is your chance to learn to make your own furniture sing! There is a vast difference between a furniture piece that has a hard mechanical look and one that is soft and inviting.
Here are a few more thoughts to ponder: What were the social, political, economical, and intellectual changes that were occurring in Europe and especially in America from 1620 to 1840. Think about what the social history of the northern colonies in America was and how it evolved. How the merchant class evolved and how and why they expressed it their home furnishings. These changes influenced how furniture looked and used. After the completion of this course, you will see furniture differently.
Here is the list of what you should bring:
Buy Sotheby’s Concise Encyclopedia of Furniture; 1989, Publisher: Conran Octopus Limited, ISBN-06-016141-8. Familiarize yourself with the first 109 pages. Study the photographs. Everyone who writes a book on Period Styles tries to write a version of the Holy Grail. This book was written to excite the younger crowd into buying antique furniture. I have had twelve semesters of Art History and will eliminate the confusion and hype.
Bring the above book. pen, tablet, and a stiff pad to use under the tablet. Every one will be sitting in side chairs in a half circle around me.
Bring a 10X lens, and a pen light.
Bring your snacks, coffee, and anything else you will need only to the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum.
The morning session will be held at the Stanley-Whitman House and Museum, 37 High Street, Farmington, Connecticut. Park only on the Museum side of the road.
The afternoon session will be held at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Go to the Main Street entrance in Hartford. We will meet at the front desk.
Parking is free on the streets in Hartford on Saturdays and Sundays. The admission to the museum is only TEN dollars.
We will eat lunch at Panera Bread, 2542 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, Ct. located at the corner of North Main Street and Albany Avenue. (You buy.)
The course will start SHARPLY at 9:00 AM and continue until 4:00 PM. Do not be late.
FEE $ 275.00 First come, first served. No refunds after October, 12, 2013. After October 12, 2013 if you can not make it, find someone to take your place. There is a maximum of 12 participants so that everyone will feel free to ask questions.
Send your check to:
Nickolas Kotula
493 Simsbury Road
Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002- 1512
phone: 860 243-1646
My email is: [email protected]
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Nick Kotula has studied wood under a microscope at two different courses at the University of Massachusetts with Professor J. Bruce Hoadley. Besides being an expert in antique furniture as a conservator, appraiser, consultant, and teacher; he was the last apprentice for the widely known Nathan Margolis Shop in Hartford, CT. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS Mech. Engr. Degree and studied furniture conservation at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. He is a furniture conservator for museums and serious collectors. He has taught Wood Identification and other courses all over the United States. In addition, Nick has studied extensively Art History and Studio Art at the University of Hartford, CT.
Unsolicited comments from my last course:
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed meeting you and how much I got out of our class on Saturday. By recognizing the lighter lines of the terminal parenchyma I have already determined, without a shred of doubt!, that a serpentine 4 drawer chest that my wife inherited is not walnut (as previously thought) but mahogany. I look forward to attending some of your classes in the future. Please keep me on your email list.
Charlie Woodworth
I just wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed your wood Id class and am looking forward to other classes you offer.
Doug Smith