Whom You Know: "Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color" Opens April 12 at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Thursday, March 28, 2013

"Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color" Opens April 12 at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

The exhibition "Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color" fully examines the extraordinary career of Thomas Day (1801-about 1861), who owned and operated one of North Carolina's most successful cabinet shops before the Civil War. Day's surviving woodworks represent the finest of 19th-century craftsmanship and aesthetics. The exhibition was organized by the North Carolina Museum of History and is on view at the Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., from April 12 through July 28.

Day was a master cabinetmaker and entrepreneur whose business flourished during a time when most African Americans were enslaved and free blacks were restricted in their movements and activities. The exhibition showcases 37 pieces of furniture crafted by Day or attributed to his workshop. The exhibition also includes three period quilts from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a Bible owned by Day, historic photographs and contemporary photographs of architectural interiors designed by Day.

"Thomas Day's story of talent, entrepreneurship and hard work exemplifies a distinctly American experience and conveys this nation's rich artistic and cultural history," said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "This exhibition presents careful research and fine historical objects that have special charm still today."

During the antebellum years (1820-1861), North Carolina planters used both classical architecture and fine furniture to convey economic status and gentility. Day, whose father was a cabinetmaker, opened his shop in 1827 in Milton, N.C., where he created fine furniture and architectural interiors for an elite clientele. Day's style is characterized by undulating shapes, fluid lines and spiraling forms. He combined his own unique motifs with popular designs to create a distinctive style readily identified with his shop. Day is the only documented American cabinetmaker to offer clients both architectural elements for their Greek Revival homes and furniture incorporating the same classical motifs. To date, woodwork in about 80 homes in rural North Carolina and Virginia has been attributed to Day.

About the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the vision and creativity of Americans with
artworks in all media spanning more than three centuries. The museum’s branch for craft and

decorative art, the Renwick Gallery, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W. It is open
daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. Metrorail station: Farragut North
(Red line) and Farragut West (Blue and Orange lines). Follow the museum on Twitter, Facebook,
Pinterest, Flickr, ArtBabble, iTunes and YouTube. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970.

Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Website: americanart.si.edu.

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