Henry Ford Museum Opens Exhibition on American Craftsmanship with 100 Rare Artifacts

The Henry Ford launched Handmade: The Crafting of America on March 21 in Dearborn. Visitors can see it through Jan. 18, 2027. More than 100 objects fill the museum's 2,200-square-foot Collections Gallery.

Most artifacts haven't appeared before the public in years. Some have never been shown. They're drawn from the museum's 26-million-piece holdings—a staggering archive of American history. About 90 percent are making their debut or returning after decades in storage, as per Yahoo.

The museum created this show to mark the country's 250th anniversary. Four sections organize the space: Folk Art and Craft, the Shakers, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and Modern Craft spanning the 20th and 21st centuries.

A 1790 signboard of General George Washington once hung at a Massachusetts tavern. Studio pottery sits beside glassware. Sweetgrass baskets tell stories of West Africans enslaved on coastal plantations, their descendants keeping traditions alive.

One section traces salt-glaze pottery back to Thomas Commeraw. He was a free African American potter who ran his own business in New York City during the early 1800s. The Arts and Crafts section displays work by Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Pewabic, plus pieces from George Ohr, Rookwood, Kalo, Limpert, Stickley and the Saturday Evening Girls.

Modern Craft brings studio potters and glass artists into view—Marvin Lipofsky and Roberto Lugo among them. Charles Sable, curator of decorative arts, calls Lugo "the hottest artist working in studio ceramics."

"Wooden Quilt for Big Mama" greets visitors near the entrance. Jean-Marcel St. Jacques built it in 2023 from salvaged wood—scraps of homes Hurricane Katrina destroyed. The 12th-generation Afro-Creole artist had just returned to New Orleans when Katrina struck.

Cynthia Jones directs museum experiences and engagement. She explains the gallery was built to rotate collection items. "We have a ton of stuff Henry collected and nowhere to put it," Sable told The Detroit News.

The show takes a broad view of craft. Sable borrows a definition from the Winterthur Museum, which he paraphrases as "a craftsperson creates something that's unique."

Workshops and curator lectures happened over the weekend when the show opened. Museum entry covers admission. Details await at thehenryford.org.