Preview: The Craftsman Gala
The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms’ executive director invites you to take part in the museum’s annual two-day Stickley-extravaganza, The Stickley Weekend, to be held over October 13-14, 2018. Friends from around the country will be welcomed for a celebration of Stickley’s legacy and his beloved property’s bright future.
“This year’s Stickley Weekend is especially meaningful as it is scheduled just a few weeks before groundbreaking on the museum’s new Education Center,” writes executive director Vonda Givens. “We’re taking a pause from preparations to celebrate.”
The Craftsman Gala, to be held on Saturday evening, will be the weekend’s highpoint. A combination formal party and family reunion, the Gala is also the museum’s most important annual fundraiser. “The Gala supports our daily operations from collections care to group tours,” Givens continues, “and it is especially key now. We expect to be entrenched in a major construction project for at least a year and we’re determined to maintain normal operations through it all. That will be a challenge, but with the support of the museum’s dedicated friends, we can do it.”
Stickley Weekend is a great opportunity to experience Craftsman Farms. Here’s a schedule:
Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. – 8th Annual Scholars Symposium
This year’s Symposium will be kicked off by keynote speaker Greg Whittkopp, Director of Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, presenting the annual Amy Stahl Memorial Lecture and followed by emerging scholar Shelley Cathcart. The Symposium will culminate with a panel discussion featuring the authors of the forthcoming publication American Art Pottery: The Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The panel will include: Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, the Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Curator of American Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Dr. Martin Eidelberg, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University and Adrienne Spinozzi, Assistant Research Curator of American Decorative Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Saturday evening, 6:00 p.m. at the Mountain Lakes Club in Mountain Lakes, NJ – The Craftsman Gala
Beginning with a cocktail hour at sunset overlooking beautiful Mountain Lake, the Gala will feature a delicious dinner and lively auctions. Robert A Ellison Jr, trailblazing collector, researcher, writer and champion of American Art Pottery, will be honored. Special guest David Rago of Rago Arts and Auction Center will be the evening’s auctioneer.
Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. – Reception and Open House
The day will begin with “Coffee and Craft with Laura Wilder” from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., a Members-only reception and sale with the highly-regarded printmaker and Roycroft Master Artisan. Wilder will also join us from 12 to 4 p.m. for a celebration of craft during the museum’s annual free Open House. Tours will be suspended for the day and hourly spotlight talks will focus on objects in the museum’s collection.
For more details about this exciting weekend, contact the museum at 973-540-0311 or visit https://www.stickleymuseum.org/programs/upcoming-programs/stickley-weekend.
Photos courtesy of Vonda Givens
