In pursuit of beauty : Americans and the Aesthetic movement

Directors Foreword by Philippe de Montebello Contributors Lenders to the Exhibition Acknowledgments Explanatory Notes Preface Artifact as Ideology: The Aesthetic Movement in its American Cultural Context Roger B. Stein Decorating Surfaces: Aesthetic Delight, Theoretical Dilemma Catherine Lynn Surface Ornament: Wallpapers, Carpets, Textiles, and Embroidery Catherine Lynn The Artful Interior Marilynn Johnson Art Furniture: Wedding the Beautiful to the Useful Marilynn Johnson A New Renaissance: Stained Glass in the Aesthetic Period Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen Aesthetic Forms in Ceramic and Glass Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen Metalwork: An Ecclectic Aesthetic David A. Hanks with Jennifer Toher Painters and Sculptors in a Decorative Age Doreen Bolger Burke American Architecutre and the Aesthetic Movement James D. Kornwolf An Aesthetics of our Own: American Writers and the Aesthetic Movement Jonathan Freedman Dictionary of Architects, Artisans, Artists, and Manufacturers Catherine Hoover Voorsanger Selected Bibliography Index Photograph Credits Director's Foreword / Philippe De Montebello -- Artifact As Ideology : The Aesthetic Movement In Its American Cultural Context / Roger B. Stein -- Decorating Surfaces : Aesthetic Delight, Theoretical Dilemma / Catherine Lynn -- Surface Ornament : Wallpapers, Carpets, Textiles, And Embroidery / Catherine Lynn -- The Artful Interior / Marilynn Johnson -- Art Furniture : Wedding The Beautiful To The Useful / Marilynn Johnson -- A New Renaissance : Stained Glass In The Aesthetic Period / Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen -- Aesthetic Forms In Ceramics And Glass / Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen -- Metalwork : An Eclectic Aesthetic / David A. Hanks With Jennifer Toher -- Painters And Sculptors In A Decorative Age / Doreen Bolger Burke -- American Architecture And The Aesthetic Movement / James D. Kornwolf -- An Aestheticism Of Our Own : American Writers And The Aesthetic Movement / Jonathan Freedman -- Dictionary Of Architects, Artisans, Artists, And Manufacturers / Catherine Hoover Voorsanger. Doreen Bolger Burke ... [et Al.]. Published To Coincide With A Major Loan Exhibition At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Oct. 23, 1986 To Jan. 11, 1987--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 488-502) And Index. "This project is the first comprehensive study of a phenomenon that not only dominated the American arts of the 1870s and 1880s, but also helped set the course of such later developments in the United States as the Arts and Crafts movement, the indigenous interpretation of Art Nouveau, and even the rise of modernism. In fact, the early history of the Metropolitan--its founding, its sponsorship of a school of industrial design, and its display of decorative works--is inextricably tied to the Aesthetic movement and its educational goals. "In Pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement" comprised some 175 objects including furniture, metalwork, stained glass, ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, painting, and sculpture. Some of these had rarely been displayed; others, although familiar, were being shown in new and even startling contexts. The exhibition and catalogue are arranged thematically to illustrate both the major styles of a visually rich movement and the ideas that generated its diversity"--From publisher's description