Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana, Volume II

This handsome book, the second volume of selections from the Jane Katcher Collection, presents a superlative group of American folk and decorative arts created primarily in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. It contains more than one hundred recent acquisitions, including a masterpiece of American basketry woven in Nevada by the renowned Louise Keyser (also known as Dat So La Lee) in 1913.

Familiar categories of Americana—portraits, quilts, weathervanes, boxes, trade signs, miniature portraits, schoolgirl art, furniture, and Shaker objects—are joined here by new directions in collecting, represented by objects such as love tokens, friendship albums, and rewards of merit. Noted scholars discuss the historical, economic, and social context in which the objects were created, as well as their aesthetic qualities and their makers' craft methods. Lavishly illustrated with 470 color illustrations, this book, like its companion volume, is essential for anyone interested in American folk art, Shaker craft, early American furniture, and Native American artistry.