Westmoreland Museum of American Art presents Pennsylvania folk art exhibit

"These tin lids were put on, then they took hot wax and sealed them," Swala says. "So, while the product was still boiling hot -- lets say peaches or something -- they put it in there, put the lid on, and put sealing wax around it. And then as it cooled, it contracted and made its own seal. These, of course, were outdated when the glass industry started making glass canning jars."

A stoneware collector, Swala, who lives in Jefferson, Greene County, is a guest curator of salt-glazed stoneware and tanware for "Made in Pennsylvania: A Folk Art Tradition," an exhibition of folk art pieces, mainly from the 19th century, that all have their origins in Pennsylvania.

The show, which opened Saturday at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, is by far one of the largest of its kind ever produced. Arranged in four categories, each of which is organized by its own curator, the exhibition features more than 400 important examples of fraktur, salt-glazed stoneware and tanware, textiles, and painted furniture.

For his part, Swala coordinated efforts with several Southwestern Pennsylvania collectors to select more than 200 salt-glazed stoneware and tanware objects from a six-county area, including pieces from his own collection.

They include everything from whiskey jugs to jelly jars, pans, spittoons and a meat tenderizer. The stuff of everyday life in 19th-century Pennsylvania, they date from 1852-1911. Many have those dates, as well as the names of the makers, boldly emblazoned on them. The earliest example is a 20-gallon storage jar with hand-painted banner by James Hamilton.

One of Swala's favorite pieces is a "presentation dog," circa 1865. Swala says the small, and rather crude-looking, blue spotted Dalmatian likely was a trade sign for A.B. Dunaway, a druggist from Greensboro.

Created by James Atchison, it is inscribed on one side as follows: "A.B. Dunaway -- Dealer in Drugs, Paints & Fancy Goods of all Kinds." And on the other: "Go to Dunaways for Good Segars and Tobaco" (spelling is correct).

Swala is one of nearly 40 private collectors who, along with several area museums and cultural institutions, have lent pieces from their collections for this unprecedented exhibition.

"One of the reasons we thought this would be a great show for us is that we have something from every category in the museum's permanent collection," says Barbara Jones, the museum's curator. "So it was a nice thing for us to include those and highlight those things from our collection. And then bring in major collectors from the surrounding area."

One of the pieces Jones is referring to is a bright red Soap Hollow chest of drawers, one of the first pieces visitors will see in the painted furniture section. That same chest graces the cover of "Soap Hollow: The Furniture and its Makers" (Canal Press, 2002) by Charles Muller of Groveport, Ohio.

Not without coincidence, Muller acted as curator of the painted furniture section, which includes, in addition to the museum's piece, 17 exceptional examples of painted furniture.

Except for three pieces that were made by Jacob Knagy of Myersdale, Somerset County, most of the furniture on display was made by Soap Hollow cabinetmakers.

"Probably no other group of furniture has such an abundance of extant examples," says Muller, who personally has cataloged more than 300 pieces of Soap Hollow furniture and 25 pieces made by Knagy.

The pieces are unique for their brightly painted colors and stenciled designs. They were made in the early 19th century, primarily of poplar and cherry, by German Amish cabinetmakers who settled in Soap Hollow, a three-mile-long valley on the northern edge of Somerset County near Johnstown.

Based on dated pieces, there were at least 11 furniture makers in Soap Hollow from 1834-1928. The chest of drawers in the museum's permanent collection dates to 1867 and is attributed to Jeremiah Stahl (1830-1907). A prime example, it represents Soap Hollow furniture at its best with its bright red color and bird decoration combined with the classic scrolled backboard, kite-shaped escutcheons, drop-centered skirt and finely turned legs to present a piece that incorporates the individuality of the maker with tradition of form.

Pittsburgh attorney Harley N. Trice, a recognized authority on textiles, served as guest curator of the textiles section. In addition to 34 samplers representing six Southwestern Pennsylvania counties, he has selected four outstanding coverlets from the collections of West Overton Museum, Washington County Historical Society and two private lenders.

Also on display in this section is a Civil War quilt from the collection of the Sewickley Valley Historical Society that dates to 1890.

Finally, a major portion of the exhibition is made up of frakturs and was organized by R. David Brocklebank, of Ligonier, who has been collecting research on fraktur for more than 35 years.

Practiced by Pennsylvania Germans primarily from the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries, fraktur blossomed into a uniquely rich, colorful and iconographic form of expression in the United States, tied to rites of social life, such as births, baptisms and marriage.

The name derives from that of a distinctive German script marked by "fractured" pen strokes, and the form has clear roots in European folk culture.

Highly decorated, some are engraved, but many on display were drawn and painted by hand, such as one particularly excellent example by John George Busyaeger, who was active between 1809 and 1841.

According to Brocklebank, Busyaeger was, by far, the most prolific fraktur artist in Westmoreland County. During his 30-plus years of work, he created at least 35 percent of the local fraktur.

The one on display here, which features a colorful motif made of pinwheel lilies, thistles and berries, was created as a birth and baptism certificate for Elisabeth Barbara Wagner, born April 18, 1855, and baptized May 18, 1855. Like nearly all of the artist's works, it is signed and dated "Made by J.G. Bushyaeger 1841."

Of course, the examples held up here merely scratch the surface of this most extensive and interesting exhibition, which obviously benefited from the equally extensive knowledge of the guest curators and collectors who made it all possible.

Related programs

Marta Urban -- Pennsylvania German Fraktur Artist: Named to Early American Life's Top 100 American Folk Artists for the past three years, Marta will be on site greeting guests and assisting children in a hands-on activity while demonstrating traditional techniques to create her one-of-a-kind frakturs. Light refreshments will be served. Noon-4 p.m. July 7. Free with museum admission.

Thursday Evenings at The Westmoreland: Made in Pennsylvania Gallery Tour -- Fraktur & Furniture: Gallery tour by guest curators R. David Brocklebank and Charles Muller, along with The Westmoreland's Curator, Barbara Jones. Brocklebank has been collecting research on fraktur for more than 35 years. Muller has been interested in American antiques since 1963, and is an expert on painted furniture, especially Soap Hollow. 7 p.m. July 19. Free with museum admission.

Brown Bag Lecture: Primitive Rug Patterns: Discover the art of rug hooking, a folk craft tradition that dates to the 1800s. While many designs can be quite ornate, hooked rugs originally were created for the purpose of covering cold, bare floors. Nationally recognized artist Barbara Carroll will give a demonstration. Carroll offers classes, retreats and supplies from her studio in Ligonier, the Woolley Fox, and has published several books on rug hooking. Noon July 25. Free with museum admission.

Brown Bag Lecture: Discovering Our Roots: Explore the history of Westmoreland County through a presentation by the Baltzer Meyer Historical Society. Located in Hempfield, the society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study, preservation and record sharing of the history of the settlements of Westmoreland County, encompassing not just the political and military history, but the lives of the people who made this region their home. Noon Aug. 8. Free with museum admission.

Thursday Evenings at The Westmoreland: Made in Pennsylvania Gallery Tour -- Stoneware & Textiles: Gallery tour by guest curators Frank Swala and Harley N. Trice. Swala is an avid collector of antiques and specializes in Western Pennsylvania stoneware, tanware, textiles and country furniture. A member of the board of trustees of the museum, Trice is an authority on textiles. 7 p.m. Aug. 16. Free with museum admission.

Thursday Evenings at The Westmoreland: Currents of Change: Jason T. Busch, newly appointed curator of decorative arts at Carnegie Museum of Art, traces the artistic history of the Mississippi River region during a time of unprecedented economic and technological change, from 1850-61. 7 p.m. Sept. 13. Free with museum admission.

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