A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects

Robell Awake, Johnalynn Holland

• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781797228549
• eBook ISBN: 9781797228556
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: African American History

Ten beautifully illustrated essays tell the stories of handcrafted objects and their makers, providing inspiration and insight into Black history and craftsmanship.

Black artisans have long been central to American art and design, creating innovative and highly desired work against immense odds. Atlanta-based chairmaker and scholar Robell Awake explores the stories behind ten cornerstones of Black craft, including:

• The celebrated wooden chairs of Richard Poynor, an enslaved craftsman who began a dynasty of Tennessee chairmakers.
• The elegant wrought-iron gates of Philip Simmons, seen to this day throughout Charleston, South Carolina, whose work features motifs from the Low Country.
• The inventive assemblage art and yard shows of Joe Minter, James Hampton, Bessie Harvey, and others, who draw on African spiritual traditions to create large-scale improvisational art installations.

From the enslaved potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina, to Ann Lowe, the couture dressmaker who made Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding dress, to Gullah Geechee sweetgrass basket makers, to the celebrated quilters of Gee's Bend, A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects illuminates the work of generations of Black craftspeople, foregrounding their enduring contributions to American craft.

BLACK CRAFT AND AMERICANA: Delving into the history of Black skilled artisans, estimated to have outnumbered white artisans five to one in the southern United States in the late 1800s, this unique art history book celebrates handcrafted objects that reflect the dynamic nature of Black culture.

DYNAMIC ILLUSTRATED ESSAYS: Luminous color illustrations by artist Johnalynn Holland highlight beloved craft objects and their makers, creating a fascinating volume to study and treasure.

ART HISTORY EXPERTISE: Author Robell Awake is a notable furniture maker, artisan, and educator whose work has been featured in the New York Times and in group shows at Verso Gallery in New York City and the Center for Craft in Asheville, NC. Dr. Tiffany Momon, who contributes an afterword, is the founder and co-director of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive and a leading scholar of Black history and African American placemaking throughout the southeast.

BEAUTIFUL GIFT BOOK: The gorgeous design is ideal for art collectors and craft enthusiasts, as a keepsake reminder of Black heritage, for Black History Month and beyond.

Perfect for:

• Anyone interested in the intersection of Black art, craft, and history
• Designers and craftspeople
• Educators and students
• Collectors and museum curators
• Lovers of fine and artisanal design objects

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Harriet Powers’s Pictorial Quilt
• Face Jugs, Dave the Potter, and the Story of Edgefield
• Buckner, Boston, and Day: Black Cabinetmakers
• The Chairs of Richard Poynor
• Gee’s Bend Quilts: America’s Original Abstract Art Form
• Black Architecture and the Hidden History of the Front Porch
• Sweetgrass Baskets: Gullah Art and Cultural Preservation in the Low Country
• Philip Simmons: America’s Twentieth-Century Blacksmith Laureate
• Ann Lowe: Third-Generation Couturier
• Yard Shows: Origins of Assemblage Art in America
• Afterword Tiffany Momon
• Notes
• About the Author
• Backcover