QUEST

Hunting for Rohlfs Treasures
Slated to open in 2009, the exhibition The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs will be guest-curated by Joseph Cunningham of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation (also known as ADA1900; see Personal Perspective, page 82). The show will debut at the Milwaukee Art Museum before traveling
to the Dallas Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA), the Huntington Library, Gardens and Art Collections (San Marino, CA), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City). An accompanying book is being published by ADA1900.

In preparation, a meticulous research effort is underway. “We tracked down Rohlfs’s granddaughter in Colorado,” Cunningham says. “It is one of those wonderful families that never threw anything out. She fed me and put up with me for weeks as I scanned and scanned all kinds of material, including diaries, correspondence and photographs. My access to this primary source material will make an essential contribution to the book.”

You can contribute, too. While many fine Rohlfs pieces have been located, the pieces shown above are known only from period photos and advertisements. If you know their current whereabouts, or have leads on other important Rohlfs objects, contact Cunningham at jc@ada1900.org.