McCauley Lecture: "Pennsylvania German Decorative Arts"

For our next McCauley Lecture, presented by the Western Maryland Room at the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Branch on May 2 at 7 PM, Jean Woods will give an illustrated presentation on Pennsylvania German Decorative Arts. 

The Pennsylvania Germans are one of the most creative ethnic groups whose bright colors and design led to a particular American folk art. Their farming methods and inventions like the Conestoga wagon and the long rifle, propelled progress in the Colonies. Nearly 100,000 would settle in Pennsylvania prior to the American Revolution and many relocated to Washington County, Maryland.

The speaker will showcase some of the objects they made from furniture to fraktur and pottery to metalwork. Ms. Woods organized and curated the Germanic Heritage exhibition in 1983 marking the 300th anniversary of Germanic immigration to Pennsylvania, as well as exhibits on fraktur and Cumberland Valley pottery when she was Director of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, a position she held for 21 years.  Prior to retirement, she spent 14 years doing art consulting for museums and private collectors.  In addition, Ms. Woods has documented fraktur, a favorite research topic for her, for collectors and historical societies, as well as written on the subject. In April, she had an article published by Maine Antique Digest on a Lancaster County fraktur.

Jean Woods has frequently spoken on the material culture of the Pennsylvania Germans and was honored by the Pennsylvania German Society with the annual award in 1993. With undergraduate study in marketing, she holds a master’s degree in journalism, was elected to Kappa Tau Alpha, and did post-graduate work at Colorado State University and the Winterthur Museum

Registration is optional, but encouraged. If you would like to watch the live stream on YouTube, please click the link below:

https://youtu.be/u68KaEwA3ss