BOOK REVIEWS
Blackburn in his introduction. The sheer scope of this book, however, carries its own problems. The actual mechanics of the layout result in a loss of continuity that often makes the already complex material difficult to follow. This is not helped by the frequent instances of captions that apply to pictures many pages removed. The text that introduces each section tends to be just a few pages long while the captions, printed in small type, occupy the greatest portion of the book. In addition,the quotes,in italicized type, often bear little relation to the specific caption discussion and interrupt the reader's concentration. The vast majority of the illustrations are small black-and-white pictures, a grave disappointment after the lushness of the cover, and the difficulty of expecting the reader to be able to discern details pointed out in the text quickly becomes apparent. One is left with the feeling that the authors simply learned so much about the Dutch families and their lives that they needed to relate all the information, whether applicable to an understanding of an object and its reflection of Dutch society or not. And in some cases, where one might wish for more information, it is not forthcoming. For example, in the discussion of a silver teapot Blackburn writes,"A rare glimpse of the craft training of a silversmith survives in several letters of family correspondence. No other early first-hand account of a young apprentice from New York is known:'When we look eagerly for this "rare glimpse" we are referred to a footnoted source. The land-poor Netherland population developed as a largely urban one with a great emphasis placed on material goods, house and garden. The forms which evolved were brought undiluted to New Netherland where they were reinterpreted to meet the challenges of life in the New World with the available materials. The establishment of the material comforts of the Old World in the New and the abundance of food, land and trade led Nicasius de Sille to comment "... in fine, one can live here and forget Patria!' Remembrance ofPatria is a synthesis of the wealth of research material that has come before as well as the source ofthe new research of the last ten years. It is also a celebration and examination of the richly textured culture of Dutch life that was not 68
forgotten in the New World, but reaffirmed. —Stacy C. Hollander Stacy C. Hollander, Assistant Curator at the Museum of American Folk Art, is a graduate of the Museum of American Folk Art/New York University Master's Degree program in American Folk Art. She has recently completed a two-year cataloguing projectfor the Museum funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
TREASURES OF AMERICAN FOLK ART:FROM THE ABBY ALDRICH ROCKEFELLER FOLK ART CENTER By Beatrix T. Rumford and Carolyn J. Weekley 240 pages, 185 color illustrations Published by Little, Brown and Company, Bulfinch Press, Boston, in association with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1989 $35.00 hardcover; $22.95 softcover Treasures of American Folk Art is the accompanying catalogue to the traveling exhibition of the same title. The treasures that are on view at scheduled venues across the United States, while the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation enlarges the Folk Art Center building in which the objects are
Appliquéd Quilt, Baltimore and Somerset County, Maryland; Circa 1850; Various cottons with inked details and silver metallic thread;84 x 99"; Gift ofMarsha C. Scott pictured in Treasures of American Folk Art from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center.
normally housed, are the real attraction. If possible, see the exhibition to appreciate firsthand the objects and through some of them, the persona of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who collected them. The preface to the catalogue outlines the formation of Mrs. Rockefeller's collection and traces its evolution, additions, and various installations at Colonial Williamsburg. Images in catalogues cannot compete with the objects "in the flesh;' although the catalogue does serve as a valuable and permanent record of an exhibition once the objects have safely returned to their respective collections. Beatrix T. Rumford, as general editor of both American Folk Portraits and American Folk Paintings, which document the respective collections at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, has set the standard for a complete, concise, and scholarly format for the entries of objects in the Center's collection. A catalogue documenting an exhibition, however, is inevitably very different, because the parameters set for the inclusion of objects in that particular exhibition may vary. Many of the objects in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center's latest exhibition are masterpieces — certainly all are treasures. The difficulty in this catalogue lies in organizing the material and grouping or categorizing the pieces. This problem is inherent in any exhibition without a precise thematic content or intent. Despite the artificiality in nomenclature of the chapter headings and the fact that objects in these categories overlap, these classifications serve to organize the catalogue. The descriptive explanation does flow smoothly within each chapter if not from chapter to chapter. The information within each chapter cannot be faulted; it includes historical fact, social commentary, art criticism, and the role of folk art in both the society for which it was created and today's world. In addition, the text itself is presented in a comprehensible style. The staff at Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center is known for careful research; however, their very conservative approach can lead to obfuscation. There is undoubtedly a differentiating degree of certitude between the terms "probably" and "possibly': Despite the descriptive nuances between the two terms, the use of both in a single catalogue entry, or in the same line of attribution, is more confusing than eluciThe Clarion