Collections
Craft Collections
Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts
Decorative arts in the collection range from the colonial period to the Gilded Age and beyond. Highlights include gorgeous stained glass windows by John La Farge and a commemorative piano decorated by Thomas Wilmer Dewing, originally presented by Steinway & Sons to the White House.
The museum's collection of contemporary American craft, on display at the Renwick Gallery and in the Luce Center, is considered one of the finest in the United states. It includes a wide array of one-of-a-kind pieces created from clay, fiber, glass, metal, and wood. Major works by well-established craft masters, such as Wendell Castle, Dale Chihuly, Robert Ebendorf, David Ellsworth, Sheila Hicks, Karen LaMonte, Beth Lipman, Sam Maloof, and Albert Paley, as well as objects by up-and-coming artists, are featured. Jewelry, studio furniture, and wood art make up a significant part of the collection. A favorite among Renwick visitors is Larry Fuente's Game Fish, an assemblage of game pieces in the form of a trophy fish.
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Pictured: Larry Fuente, Game Fish, 1988, mixed media, 51 1/2 x 112 1/2 x 10 3/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase through the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
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