The Renwick

I'm ashamed as an art historian to say I have never been to the Renwick Gallery as of 2 weeks ago. However I took my fourth graders on a field trip there and the museum blew my mind. The museum focuses on craft art which means art made out of craft materials: wood, glass, metal, fiber and plastic. Here is a picture of the outside of the buidling.

Above: The back view of The Bureau of Burearcracy- this should be down further in this post but I am about to have a heart attack trying to get it down there so let's just pretend it's in the right location.

Above: The very famous Game Fish- this is a must see in person. An example of plastic being used as high art.



Above: Another must see in person: the Bureau of Bureaucracy. At first the cabinet seems like a basic example of superb cabinetry but closer inspection reveals hidden drawers and intricate inlay.
This piece to me is truly the thesis of craft art as it takes a craft and raises it up to the level of art with the meaning imbued upon it.

Above: Ghost Clock by Wendell Castle. This is not a clock with a sheet over it. It is a single piece of mahogony craved to look like a clock with a sheet over it. The "sheet" part is the mahogony bleached to white.

Above: And finally the Renwick has a insane sized collection of George Cailtin's Indian portraits What you see is literally just a tiny piece of the collection. It is one huge room mid wall to ceiling indian painting after indian painting. It really is a must-see in person as well.