Highlights Archives
Sleuthing Mineral Point's Early Furniture Trade
"Equal to Any in the Market: The Furniture Trade in Mineral Point, Wisconsin," now on exhibit at Pendarvis, features locally made Mineral Point furniture and invites visitors to discover historical clues embodied in the pieces that reveal information about the times in which they were made. Although simple upon first glance, the exhibition represents a major collaboration between the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Chipstone Foundation, and the Mineral Point Historical Society. The entire project began in 2005 when Emily Pfotenhauer, working towards her master's degree in the material culture program at UW-Madison, decided to write her master's thesis on furniture made in Mineral Point.
Pfotenhauer contacted Tamara Funk, curator of interpretation and collections at Pendarvis, for assistance with documenting her research. Funk welcomed the task and jokingly said, "But I expect an exhibit at Pendarvis when you are done!" The Chipstone Foundation of Milwaukee, a private foundation for the collection and study of American decorative arts, grew interested in the project, and Chipstone's director, Jonathan Prown, came to Mineral Point to see Emily's findings. Prown was particularly impressed with a rocking chair in the Pendarvis collection. It was one of the most well-preserved painted rockers he had seen in his entire career.
Chipstone and the university's material culture program encouraged Emily to expand her study of Wisconsin-made objects. They approached the Wisconsin Historical Society and, working with librarians and archivists, they developed a project to create an online archive of Wisconsin-made furniture and other decorative arts in the collections of museums and historical societies around the state — now known as the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database.
Pfotenhauer's findings were ultimately presented in an exhibition, with Pendarvis providing the perfect venue for displaying these local artifacts. Chipstone provided funding for the design and production of the exhibit labels and signage while Pfotenhauer and Funk created the exhibit content and story. Chipstone also sent its designer and curator to Mineral Point to help Pendarvis staff and Pfotenhauer with the installation of the exhibit. The Mineral Point Historical Society also played an important role in the success of the exhibit. While many of the objects in the exhibition are from the Pendarvis collections, several pieces are on loan from the local historical society, and several of the historic local photographs used are from the local society's collection.
The exhibit is an exciting example of great things that can grow from the sharing of ideas between departments and institutions with common interests.
:: Posted June 18, 2007
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