Reviews

Accompanying the first major exhibit from the folk art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, this volume highlights everyday life in 19th-century America. Written by an interdepartmental staff of curators, including Ward (editor, American Furniture with Related Decorative Arts, 1660-1830) and Carol Troyen (Awash in Color: Homer, Sargent, and the Great American Watercolor), the book provides a sampler of the museum's rich collection of American folk art objects made before 1920. Ward's eloquent introduction defines and describes folk art in general, then discusses the collection's evolution at the museum and its New England focus. Organized into five subject sections, the generous color photographs, with selected detailed enlargements, present a sufficient alternative for those who cannot physically observe the exhibit. Accompanying captions complement each piece with both descriptive and historic information. The authors present an informative, well-researched, and visually accessible volume, whetting the appetite for in-depth reading, which is suggested in the selective bibliography. Despite its regional focus, the work should appeal to aesthetes across the country; recommended for libraries with strong folk and early American art collections. Rebecca Tolley-Stokes, Eastern Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.