- William Morris died in 1896, and this signaled
the beginning of the end of the movement in England.
In the United States, however,
the movement was growing in influence.
In 1897, the first exhibition of
arts and crafts work was held in Boston.
The founding of Gustav Stickley and Company
in Syracuse, New York soon followed this.
While furniture designers in England created
remarkable items, Gustav Stickley became the predominant
player in the design of arts and crafts furniture.
Stickley was a firm believer in Morris' ideals,
but he favored a simpler and more geometric approach,
and understood the need for affordable
furniture for a middle-class consumer.
This required using factory methods to produce
basic components, and using fine craftsmen
to finish and assemble the furniture.
This created sturdy and well-made furniture that was sold
in large quantities, and still survives.
Stickley founded the magazine The Craftsman in 1901.
He used The Craftsman to promote his furniture and ideals.
The Craftsman published examples of the true furniture,
plain, unadorned, reticent design.
It deliberately contrasted this with the false,
the ornamental, derivative, poorly made
furniture found for sale in many shops.
Stickley designed furniture primarily in Native American oak.
It was sturdy and plain, in contrast to
the highly decorated late Victorian pieces.
Remaining true to the material, it was never painted,
but stained to reveal the wood grain.
Joinery was left exposed, and upholstery made of
natural and plain materials, such as canvas and leather.
The term Mission Style was also used to describe
arts and crafts furniture and design in the United States.
In the same way the British designers used regional
materials and the vernacular of the English countryside,
American designers looked at traditional American forms.
The simpler forms from the American southwest
inspired Stickley and architects Greene and Greene.
This Mission Style incorporated elements
associated with the early Spanish Mission
architecture and Native American designs.
This merged the rectilinear forms with traditional
Spanish Colonial architecture and furnishings.
Rather than using English botanical elements,
arts and crafts Mission Style furniture and design
turned to Native American patterns from southwestern
Native American rugs, pottery, and baskets.
The arts and crafts movement furniture in England,
which was primarily made by hand,
remained an expensive item for the upper-class.
Stickley and other American designers focused
more on the idea of an honest and sturdy product
that was available to a broader audience.