The role of collectors in bringing artists and art movements to the attention of museums and the larger public dates back centuries, with wealthy patrons supplying the funds to commission works for religious institutions, as well as for their own estates. Over time, art critics and historians came to play an important role in promoting and explaining works to the larger public, yet unassuming works in traditional craft media came in through the back door of the art world in the latter half of the 20th century, with collectors championing and collecting work that art historians and critics were unprepared to address.

Ken Spitzbard is exemplary of collectors active in the late 20th century, when the American Studio Woodturning movement experienced tremendous growth…

Ken Spitzbard is exemplary of collectors active in the late 20th century, when the American Studio Woodturning movement experienced tremendous growth, both among contemporary craft galleries and museums that began to collect the work. His collection shares the history of this period through choice examples of leading figures in the field, as well as some masterful, if less recognized, artists.

The American Studio Woodturning movement was born in the years following WWII, and Ken’s collection features excellent examples of works by three individuals who began creating and marketing wood bowls and vessels during this time: Bob Stocksdale, Ed Moulthrop and Rude Osolnik. Not only were the works of the makers’ own designs, but the techniques were developed largely in isolation, often requiring the creation of special tools and solutions for finishing the creations. Though they are viewed as artists today, these individuals saw themselves as craftsmen, not particularly distinct from other woodworkers, or even potters who created works with similar forms in clay.

The American Studio Woodturning movement was born in the years following WWII, and Ken’s collection features excellent examples of works by three individuals who began creating and marketing wood bowls and vessels during this time: Bob Stocksdale, Ed Moulthrop and Rude Osolnik.

The work they made grew out of utilitarian forms and were indeed intended for use, though with their explorations came pieces that were meant to be decorative or for interior design. Bob Stocksdale, who discovered woodturning while in a camp for conscientious objectors following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, began with salad bowls and transitioned into forms inspired by Asian tea bowls. Kay Sekimachi, a Japanese-American fiber artist who was in an internment camp at the time he began woodworking, ultimately became his wife. An exhibition of their work, titled Marriage in Form, toured the country in 1994; Ken’s collection features one of their collaborative works from the period.

Rude Osolnik’s frugal nature led him to use wood unfit for functional woodworking, such as pieces with natural edges and openings. When left with smaller pieces of wood, he explored laminating them to create larger blocks to work with. A beautiful larger example of Osolnik’s laminated work is featured in this collection. Ed Moulthrop, who was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright to become an architect, came to create large forms that were meant to be viewed in an architectural setting. His unique approach inspired his son Philip and grandson Matt to create similar works, and all three are featured here, with Philip’s Mosaic Series being a superb example of his own explorations.

The next generation of the American Studio Woodworking Movement were part of the counter-culture movement of the last 1960s and early 1970s, which included those who became part of the Back-to-the-land Movement. These artists often lived rurally, seeking to earn their living independently, leading to the development of craft fairs to market their works. They are well represented in Ken’s collection, including David Ellsworth, William Hunter and Hap Sakwa.

There are two excellent examples of work by Michelle Holzapfel, an artist who has from the beginning followed a path that intersected with, but never entirely fit into, accepted definitions. An artist and a craftsperson, she conceptualizes works through sketches and utilizes a lathe, but is not categorized as a woodturner, rather, she exhibits with furniture makers working in wood.

The William Hunter vessels and sculptures on offer are particularly strong examples of what brought him acclaim, yet Ken was open to collecting atypical works. In the case of Hunter, that’s clear with the Eroded Vessel, a striking and unique piece within the artist’s oeuvre. The world of art collecting is filled with those who play it safe—a Lichtenstein with dots, a Pollock with splattered paint, a Chihuly basket—but the great art collections are created by those who are brave enough to trust their eye rather than follow the pack.

The secondary market enables collectors to acquire works spanning decades of an artist’s career, and Ken collected outstanding examples that allow for an understanding of how artists evolved.

Ken’s collection also features lesser-known artists—at least for those with limited experience with the field—including Galen Carpenter, who eschewed the gallery scene, dealing instead directly with collectors by exhibiting at craft fairs and direct outreach. Galleries have traditionally played an important role in getting their artists on museums’ radars, yet many still chose to control their own careers, even at the peril of not being collected as readily by institutions, or to become part of the curators’ narratives. The secondary market enables collectors to acquire works spanning decades of an artist’s career, and Ken collected outstanding examples that allow for an understanding of how artists evolved. This is true with the inclusion of an early work by Christian Burchard, Gift for An Unknown King, made when the artist transitioned from furniture maker to woodturner. During this time, Burchard combined vessels showing the influence of David Ellsworth with pronounced bases or stands meant to elevate and celebrate the vessel form. A later work, 2 Bleached Gourds, exhibits his transition to more abstract, sculptural series which explore forms and their relationship to one another.

For those familiar with the work of artists who were part of the American Studio Woodturning Movement, much of the story is shared through the works in the collection, with signature works by Dan Kvitka, John Jordan, Steve Sinner, Derek Bencomo, and Michael Peterson. And for those interested in the unique and underrated, there is a singular example of the unique laminated work of Robert Cutler—a true showstopper.

Kevin Wallace is the author or coauthor of numerous books on contemporary art, woodturning, ceramics, glass, as well as the director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai, California.