Arkansas Made, Volume 1

About

Arkansas Made is the culmination of Historic Arkansas Museum’s exhaustive investigations into the history of the state’s material culture. Decades of meticulous research have resulted in this exciting two-volume survey of cabinetmakers, silversmiths, potters, fine artists, quilters, and other artisans working in communities all over the state.

The work of the artisans documented here has been the driving force of Historic Arkansas Museum’s mission to collect and preserve Arkansas’s creative legacy and rich artistic traditions. Artisans from across Arkansas’s rich cultural landscape come to life among the colorful quilts, playful temperance jugs, and inventive effigies included in Volume I. Readers will delight not only in the striking full-color images but also in the stories that weave them together across time and region to create a lively picture of art and artisanship in a state too little celebrated for its creative output.

Supported by the Historic Arkansas Museum, a museum in the Division of Arkansas Heritage, Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

Authors

Swannee Bennett retired as director of Historic Arkansas Museum in 2020 after a career at the museum spanning thirty-eight years.

William B. Worthen retired as director of Historic Arkansas Museum in 2016 after a fortyfour- year career at the museum.

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

I. Quilts and Textiles
II. Ceramics
III. Silver
IV. Weaponry
V. Furniture
VI. Vernacular Architecture
VII. Native American Art

Appendixes
Biographical Appendix of Potters
Biographical Appendix of Silversmiths
Biographical Appendix of Gunsmiths
Biographical Appendix of Furniture-Makers

Notes
Bibliography
Contributors

Review

“Arkansas Made is clearly organized, a necessity for tackling the extensive subject matter. This substantial effort requires two volumes; these are like handsome fraternal twins who are identical in origin but differ in appearance and interests. … Arkansas Made is … an exceptional publication, an absorbing reference book in the guise of coffee-table volumes, distinguished by relevant technical, cultural, and historical information. … In presenting objects, rather than depending on narratives, Arkansas Made provides a less familiar lens to view Arkansas history. It delivers convincing support of the authors’ argument about the underrecognized richness of the state’s history. The impressive number and variety of objects presented, from Elsie Bates Freund’s inventive modern jewelry to humble stoneware crocks, belie a simple narrative about Arkansas’s past, and create a compelling portrayal of the more varied lives of the many individuals who created and lived amongst these objects.”
—Catherine Wallack, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Spring 2022

Media

Six Bridges Book Festival: Swannee Bennett, Jennifer Carman, Victoria Chandler, and William B. Worthen join moderator Stephanie Wade to discuss Arkansas Made, a two-volume book showcasing the work of early Arkansas artists and artisans.