Folk Art from The American Museum in Britain

Housed in Claverton Manor on the outskirts of the Georgian city of Bath, the American Museum in Britain celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011. ‘Folk art’ is a misunderstood term in Britain, often indiscriminatingly used as a synonym for ‘unsophisticated’ or ‘amateur’. At Claverton Manor, its American context is conveyed: the artistic legacy of the artisan and amateur in pre-industrial America, with pieces often designed for a practical purpose – such as bird decoys, weathervanes, trade signs and child likenesses in an age of high infant mortality. The folk art collection is one of the key ways the museum introduces its largely British audience to a distinctly American aesthetic. Important works include over 200 American quilts, 30 santos and scrimshaw signed by Frederick Myrick Some of America’s greatest folk painters are represented, including John Brewster Jr, Ammi Phillips, Thomas Chambers, Sturtevant Hamblen and Grandma Moses.