Visualizing the Shakers : the early museum exhibits at the New York State Museum, the Berkshire Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art -- "A native tradition with a future" : the Shakers, the New Deal, and national design -- "Using material from our own history in the arts" : performing the Shakers, 1930-1959 -- Instituting a Shaker museum : the Yale University Art Gallery and the Shaker Museum at Old Chatham -- "Real Americana" : Shaker pageants, adapted sites, folk music, and heritage tourism -- Opening the villages to the public, 1955-1965 -- "Borrowed light" : persistent symptoms of Shaker fever.
Summary:
"Americans were enthralled by the Shakers in the years between 1925 and 1965. They bought Shaker furniture, saw Shaker worship services enacted on Broadway, sang Shaker songs, dressed in Shaker-inspired garb, collected Shaker artifacts, and restored Shaker villages. William D. Moore analyzes the activities of scholars, composers, collectors, folklorists, photographers, writers, choreographers, and museum staff who drove the national interest in this dwindling regional religious group. This interdisciplinary study places the activities of individuals-including Doris Humphrey, Charles Sheeler, Laura Bragg, Juliana Force, and Edward Deming Andrews-within the larger cultural and historical contexts of nationalism, modernism, and cultural resource management. Taking up previously unexamined primary sources and cultural productions that include the first scholarly studies of the faith, material culture and visual arts, stage performances, and museum exhibitions, Shaker Fever compels a reconsideration of this religious group and its place within American memory. It is sure to delight enthusiasts, public historians, museum professionals, furniture collectors, and anyone interested in the dynamics of cultural appropriation and stewardship"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.