Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art
July 5- October 18, 2026
Reviewed by Ed Voves
Original Photography by Anne Lloyd
Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it.
These words of Psalm 127 are on currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Don't expect to see this biblical admonition on the pages of an illuminated manuscript or engraved on a sacred vessel like a chalice.
Instead, the words of Psalm 127 serve as the decorative motif for a painted-glass lampshade. The exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), where this striking work of art appears, is devoted to the Arts and Craft Movement.
The Arts and Craft Movement, which began during the 1870's, emphasized individual skill and pride in workmanship. By this time, factory-style productivity was already well-established in the U.S., especially due to the stimulus of military contracts during the Civil War. But a long and resilient effort to maintain craft traditions contested the leviathan-like power of the Industrial Revolution.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Gallery view of Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia, showing Cabinet, created by Giuseppe Ferrari, 1874-76
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
On view in the Workshop of the World exhibit: Weathervane & Reading Stand, made at the Arden Forge, DE; Wooden Chair, designed by William Price & made by Donald Stephens
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Gallery view of the Workshop of the World exhibit, showing Judith Schaechter's stained glass panel, Over Our Dead Bodies, 2020
Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia traces the revival of the American craft tradition, beginning in 1876, with the Centennial Exposition, and extending to the present day. On view are 250 works of art, ranging from ceramics, metalwork, furniture, hand-sewn and embroidered garments, stained glass panels and paintings.
The PMA exhibition emphasizes the achievements of artists and artisans, designers and developers based in Philadelphia and surrounding communities like Bryn Athyn, where the Bible-inspired lamp was created.
During the 1920's and 1930's, the staff of the Bryn Athyn Glass Factory were engaged in trying to replicate the medieval techniques used to create the stained glass windows of great cathedrals like Chartres. They worked on behalf of Raymond Pitcairn, heir to the Pittsburgh Plate Glass fortune, who was engaged in building a Gothic-style cathedral and a museum dedicated to religious art, the Glencairn Museum.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
The Bryn Athyn Lamp, designed by Ariel C. Gunther, 1941
The Bryn Athyn Lamp evoked the creative genius of master artisans of the past. Muscle-bound workmen - and an accountant sitting at old-fashion desk - illustrate acts of skilled labor, presumably inspired by Psalm 127.
At the same time, the Philadelphia region was one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the world, home to giant factories like the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Experiments in the development of television were underway, nearby, at RCA and Philco during the 1930's.
This note of irony is central to considering the Arts and Craft Movement, in Philadelphia and throughout the world. Was it a nostalgic, retrograde phenomenon? Or was it a sincere attempt to preserve the work ethic and skill set of the past for the future benefit of humankind?
The best way of answering this question is to examine artworks of two of the most notable figures in the American Arts and Craft Movement: Samuel Yellin and Violet Oakley.
Portraits of Samuel Yellin, with a young assistant, and Violet Oakley
Neither Yellin nor Oakley are familiar names in mainstream art history. Yet, by closely appraising their work, we can safely affirm that both brilliantly integrated traditional technique with modern insight.
Samuel Yellin was born to a Jewish family in the Ukraine in 1884. At the age of eleven, Yellin was apprenticed to a master ironsmith, completing his training in five years. Then he followed the time-honored path of a journeyman, traveling to Belgium and Great Britain. In the course of his "wanderjahr," to use the German expression, Yellin honed his already impressive skills in hammering and shaping red-hot iron into an astonishing variety of metallic masterpieces.
Yellin emigrated to the U.S. in 1905 and settled in Philadelphia, where several family members already resided. He studied briefly at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, but before long he was teaching there! In 1909, Yellin established his own iron working firm which eventually employed 250 men.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Lock, Key and Handle, made by Samuel Yellin, 1911
"Devil with a hammer in his hand." So Yellin was called. There was - seemingly - nothing Yellin could not create with wrought iron. The incredible lock and key, dating to 1911, abundantly testifies to his skill.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Samuel Yellin, Mail Tray, 1929
Yellin had a special affinity for medieval craft techniques and the ideals of William Morris, the English pioneer of the Arts and Craft Movement. The mail tray (above), with a leaping hound to keep letters from overflowing, so exudes the spirit of the Middle Ages that it is amazing to reflect that it was made in 1929, rather then five hundred years earlier.
For the most part, the works on display in the Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition are small in size. As such, the "medievalism" of Yellin's oeuvre is emphasized, though not intentionally. The curators of the exhibition wisely included a 1924 Yellin Card Table to correct any misconceptions about Yellin's grasp of ironworking as a modern genre of art.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Samuel Yellin, Card Table, 1924
Three braided wrought iron supports are bound together, holding aloft a hardwood table top. The wood used was a rare South American species known as Angelim Pedra, which is resistant to rot and termites. Overall, the table is a brilliant display of organic form, suitable for use in a variety of settings.
In a 1926 speech, Yellin asserted that he was a "staunch advocate of tradition in the matter of design." But to "follow the lead of the past masters and seek our inspiration from their wonderful work" was not just a matter of technical proficiency. Yellin extolled these "past masters" for seeing the "poetry and rhythm" of their art.
Violet Oakley (1874-1961) saw the "poetry and rhythm" in painting. Her "past masters" were the Pre-Raphaelite painters of England. This accounts for much of the tremendous success of early career and, eventually, of the eclipse of her reputation until recent times.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Violet Oakley's The Weavers of New Hope, 1920
As the student and protégé of the famous illustrator, Howard Pyle, Oakley had a powerful assist in gaining commissions. But her talent and personal courage - she battled debilitating asthma - were her most important assets. Oakley's portrait (above) of the hand-loom weavers of the New Hope, PA, art colony exemplifies both her oeuvre and the spirit of the Arts and Craft Movement in America.
In 1902, Oakley scored a sensational triumph, becoming the first woman artist to receive a public mural commission in the U.S. The state government of Pennsylvania selected Oakley to paint an allegorical representation on the theme of William Penn and religious freedom in the state capital of Harrisburg. Oakley went on to paint a total of 43 murals for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania buildings, as well a murals for other venues, including the court house of Cleveland, Ohio.
The curators of the Philadelphia Museum exhibition solved the problem of representing Oakley's large-format paintings by showing a smaller work which she did for stained glass window designs. These, depicting scenes from Shakespeare plays, Hamlet and The Tempest, show Oakley at the height of her artistic power.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Violet Oakley's Hamlet and The Tempest, 1903
What strikes one on studying this impressive work is the way that Oakley captured the essence of each play in the single frame devoted it. Equally impressive is the psychological insight which informed the facial features of the protagonists in these scenes. This is especially true of the Hamlet episode, from Act II, Scene 2, where Hamlet stages a theatrical performance called The Mousetrap to expose the guilt of his uncle in the murder of his father.
"The play's the thing/where I shall catch the conscience of the King."
The reactions of each of the royal spectators to this play-within-a play cover the whole gambit of emotion: retribution, shock, dread, horror...
Detail of Ophelia in Hamlet, painted by Violet Oakley, 1903
Look into Ophelia's eyes, as she grapples with a sense of impending doom. This will lead to her descent into madness and death and to the immortal graveside soliloquy of Hamlet.
From the foregoing descriptions of the works of Yellin and Oakley, it might well be assumed that these two artists dominate the Workshop of the World exhibition. This is not the case.
Workshop of the World is a vast exhibition, with 250 works by a host of talented artists displayed in four of the galleries created during the PMA's ambitious redesign.
Centennial Exposition Handkerchief, 1876
As noted above, the exhibition begins with the 1876 Centennial Exposition. This was a major cultural event in American history. The Philadelphia Museum of Art traces it roots to the Centennial.
Another local institution which did so was the Philadelphia School of Art Needlework, 1879 to 1918. The silk twill dress, bodice and skirt which the skilled teachers and students created in the early 1880's is one of the "show-stoppers" of the exhibit.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Woman's Dress, Bodice and Skirt, made at the Philadelphia
School of Art-Needlework, 1880-85
Along with handcrafted products and cutting-edge technology from the U.S., the Centennial Exposition provided a venue for "worldly goods" from around the world. The PMA exhibit follows suit, displaying English Worcester Royal Porcelain and a remarkable array of notable works, chiefly ceramics and furniture, from China and Japan. These Asian works of art played such a prominent role in reshaping Western ideas about art that I will focus on them in a future post.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Ewer and stand made by the Worcester Royal Porcelain Co., 1875
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Gallery view of the Workshop of the World exhibit, showing a bronze urn & stand and a lacquered cabinet from Japan, late 19th century
Despite the influence of European and Asian ideas and practice at the Centennial, American artists and designers involved with the Arts and Crafts movement developed unique forms of expression based on a native or folk art aesthetic. One of the most influential was the tile maker, Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930), based in Doylestown, PA.
Mercer was, in equal parts, visionary and DIY craftsman. He was also a wealthy art enthusiast, like Raymond Pitcairn. Having "deep" pockets in the Arts and Craft Movement was no small matter.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026)
Musician: Viola da Gamba Tile & Mold, designed by Henry Chapman Mercer, 1915. Made by the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works
Few things absorb money like a sponge than handcrafted art. For that reason, church and university patronage was extremely important to Arts and Craft artists, including Yellin and Mercer, both of whom owned factories with large payrolls and expenses.
Looking at the vast array of works on view in Workshop of the World, a very significant development is noticeable, which helps explain the decline of the Arts and Crafts Movement in the years following World War I: secularization.
Despite the shock of Charles Darwin's theories, religious doubts had yet to affect large numbers of Christian faithful, especially in the U.S, during the late 1800's. Church attendance and church building remained high. University architecture maintained the quasi-religious Gothic Revival style of architecture until well into the 1900's.
Public attitudes changed dramatically in the aftermath of the two world wars. Additional factors were the appeal of mass entertainment and the rise of abstract art. This trend can be traced in the four Art and Crafts objects d'art, shown below.
Anne Lloyd, Photos (2026)
Art works in Workshop of the World (clockwise from top left)
Chasuble by the Altar Guild of St. Clement's Church (1917); St. John Window by Nicola D'Ascenzo (c.1900); Radio & Phonograph Cabinet by Wharton Esherick (1936-37); Patriot Soldier carved by Edward Maene on Litany Desk, Valley Forge Chapel (1917)
A sumptuous religious robe and a charming stained glass depiction of John the Baptist give way to a carved Revolutionary War soldier (rather than a Christian saint) for the Washington Memorial Chapel of Valley Forge, PA, and the striking Radio and Phonograph Cabinet made by Wharton Esherick, a veritable "renaissance man" adept in many art forms during the 1930's.
Following World War II - and for decades afterward - the Arts and Craft tradition was maintained in Philadelphia, as the final gallery of the exhibition shows. Most of the practitioners were teachers at local art schools. But the recent closing of the University of the Arts has been a major setback.
Is there a future for the Arts and Craft tradition in the age of robotics and AI? Let us refer back to the 1926 speech of Samuel Yellin, quoted earlier in this review. The "past masters", Yellin proclaimed...
... made masterpieces not for a day or an hour but for the ages. We should go back to them for our ideas in craftsmanship, to their simplicity and truthfulness. The superficial and the tricky, which are spreading over the world of art like a disease, doom themselves to destruction. The beautiful can never die.
***
Text: Copyright of Ed Voves, all rights
reserved
Original photography, copyright of Anne
Lloyd
Introductory Image:
Anne Lloyd,
Photo (2026) Gallery view of the
Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the foreground is the Bryn Athyn Lamp, designed by Ariel C. Gunther, 1941.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Gallery view of the Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia, showing Cabinet, created by Giuseppe Ferrari, 1874-76. Walnut, burl veneer, satinwood veneer, walnut veneer, tulip poplar, marble: 8 feet × 68 3/4 inches × 27 1/4 inches (243.8 × 174.6 × 69.2 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Art works in the Workshop of the World exhibit: Weathervane (Arden Craft Shop Museum) and Reading Stand (Rose Valley Museum), both made at the Arden Forge, Delaware, 1915-30; Wooden Chair (1916), designed by William Price and made by Donald Stephens. Biggs Museum of American Art, Dover, DE.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Gallery view of the Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia, showing Judith Schaechter's stained glass panel, Over Our Dead Bodies, 2020. Stained glass panel; flash glass, sandblasted, engraved, hand-filed, and vitreous paint; assembled with copper foil: 60 × 42 × 5 inches (152.4 × 106.7 × 12.7 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) The Bryn Athyn Lamp, designed by Ariel C. Gunther, 1941. Stoneware crucible with Monel Metal mount and stained and painted glass shade: 26 15/16 x 18 5/16 x 18 1/8 in. (68.5 x 46.5 x 46 cm.) Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, PA.
Portrait of Samuel Yellin, 1920's. Courtesy of Samuel Yellin Metalworks.
Portrait of Violet Oakley, c. early 1900's Courtesy of the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Lock, Key and Handle, made by Samuel Yellin, 1911. Wrought iron and mica (now missing): 16 1/2 × 19 3/4 × 3 1/4 inches (41.9 × 50.2 × 8.3 cm) Key: 2 1/4 × 3/4 × 7 3/8 inches (5.7 × 1.9 × 18.7 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Mail Tray, made by Samuel Yellin, 1929. Wrought and sheet iron: 5 3/4 x 12 x 16 1/4 in. (14.6 x 30.5 x 41.3 cm.) Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Card Table, made by Samuel Yellin, 1924. Wrought iron, Angelim Pedra top: 31 x 42 x 42 in. (78.7 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm.) Private collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Violet Oakely's The Weavers of New Hope, 1920. Oil on canvas: 57 1/2 inches × 45 1/2 inches (1461.1 × 115.6 cm) Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Violet Oakely's Hamlet and The Tempest, 1903. Oil on canvas, each: 6 feet 3 1/4 inches × 43 1/2 inches (191.1 × 110.5 cm) Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington
Centennial Exposition Handkerchief, 1876. Made by L. & G. Cramer Co., Philadelphia. Printed cotton plain weave: 24 7/8 x 24 1/4 inches (63.2 x 61.6 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Woman's Dress, Bodice and Skirt, made at the Philadelphia School of Art-Needlework, 1880-85. Silk twill with silk embroidery: bodice length. 26 in. (66 cm.); skirt length. 6 ft. 2 in.; waist, circumference. 26 in. (66 cm.) Philadelphia Museum of Art collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Ewer and stand, made by the Worcester Royal Porcelain Co. (England), 1875. Porcelain with enamel and gilt decoration. Ewer: 11 1/4 x 5 5/16 inches (28.5 x 13.5 cm.) Stand: 1 15/16 × 12 inches (4.9 × 30.5 cm.) Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Gallery view of the Workshop of the World: Arts and Craft in Philadelphia, showing a bronze urn & stand (6 ft. 1 1/4 x 35 1/4 inches (186 x 89.5 cm.) and a lacquered wood cabinet (64 1/2 x 20 7/8 x 44 3/4 inches (163.8 x 53 x 113.7 cm) from Japan, Meji period, late 19th century. Philadelphia Museum of Art collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Musician: Viola da Gamba Tile and Mold, designed by Henry Chapman Mercer, 1915. Made by the Moravian Pottery & Tile Works, Doylestown, PA. Mold, plaster: 9 3/16 x 7 1/16 x 2 3/16 in. (23.3 x18 x 5.9 cm.) Tile, glazed earthenware: 7 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 1 in. (19.1 x 16.5 2.5 cm.) Collections of Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2026) Photo Collage of Art works
in the Workshop of the World exhibition: Chasuble made by
the Altar Guild of St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia (1917) Silk damask with silk and gold thread embroidery: 46 x 47 in. (116.8 x 119.4 cm. St. Clement's Church collection; St. John
Window by Nicola D'Ascenzo (c.1900) Opalescent and painted glass: 33 3/4 x 26 x 4 1/4 in. (85.7 x 66 x 10.8 cm.) Private collection; Radio & Phonograph Cabinet by
Wharton Esherick (1936-37). Cherrywood: 27 1/2 × 23 × 29 1/2 inches (69.9 × 58.4 × 74.9 cm); Revolutionary War Soldier carved by Edward Maene. Litany Desk (1917) Oak with brass inlay: 41 1/8 x 21 7/16 x 24 3/16 in.(104.5 x 54.5 x 61.5 cm.) Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge, PA.
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