Collection: American Museum and Gardens

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The American Museum & Gardens was founded by partners in both work and life, John Judkyn and Dallas Pratt. They were inspired to create a museum in the UK that replicated the experience provided by open-air and decorative arts museum in America, such as Colonial Williamsburg, the Shelburne Museum, Historic Deerfield, and Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. In creating their own museum in the UK they wanted to showcase American decorative arts, challenge stereotypes and improve Anglo-American relationships.

  Dallas and John had a substantial network of friends who worked as curators and directors of significant collections in the US, were antique dealers, and collectors of art and antiquities. Using these contacts, they sought advice on how to obtain the best collection of American decorative arts possible with their available funds. In 1958 they began collecting in earnest and using their own money they travelled America seeking out the best examples to furnish their museum. By 1961 they had acquired 2,410 items for the collection, most of which was purchased by them, but a small proportion was donated by friends and supporters. The majority of these items collected were used in the initial displays when the Museum opened in July 1961.

  In 1966, prompted by the tragic untimely death of John Judkyn 3 years earlier, the John Judkyn Memorial was established in his memory as an affiliated organisation to the Museum. Its purpose was to develop the educational side of the Museum that John had valued and provided education and outreach programmes, as well as travelling exhibitions. It’s statement of purpose was: “to encourage an interest in America through the medium of original artefacts brought from the United States and circulated throughout Great Britain as exhibitions shown in museums and art galleries and as visual aids to education in schools”. Items from the American Museum’s collection were transferred to the JJM and new items were also acquired for the JJM collection. These items were much broader in scope than the original American Museum collection and included many 20h century items. In 2001, the collections at the American Museum and the John Judkyn Memorial were combined under the governance of the American Museum. The 2,777 items held by the John Judkyn Memorial are now considered part of the American Museum’s collection.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  There are approximately 12,275 items in the American Museum’s collection. Less than 1% of these are on long-term loan, and of those loan items, most are from American museums.

  The American Museum is the only museum in Great Britain to display American domestic interiors from the 17th to 19th centuries. Period room settings incorporate architectural salvage (rescued from historic American houses that were being demolished), furniture and furnishings. The decorative art collections are mostly American in origin, but pieces from other countries are occasionally used when appropriate. The period room settings are supplemented by additional galleries depicting the diverse cultures, histories and decorative arts of America. The collections and displays demonstrate the developments in American decorative arts over the centuries.

  The addition of the John Judkyn Memorial collection to the American Museum broadened the scope of the collection and included more items from the 19h and 20h centuries and items that provided a more extensive insight into American social and material culture.

  Significant holdings include:

  Quilt and textile collection

  Ranging from the 18th to mid-20th centuries, the American Museum’s collection of over 250 quilts is acclaimed as the finest of its type in Europe and the equal of many premier collections in the United States. In addition to the quilts are woven coverlets, Navajo and southwest weavings, hooked rugs and samplers. The Hannah Taylor sampler (1959.180) has been described as the most striking and well-preserved Newport sampler of the 18 century and is one of two items that the founders stipulated never leave the Museum.

  Folk art collection

  The Museum holds an extensive collection of American folk art, which includes naive’ paintings and sculptures, weathervanes and whirligigs, shop signs, decoys etc. as well as textiles, such as quilts and rugs.

  Shaker collection

  The Shaker collection – of outstanding quality – was sourced for the Museum by Edward Deming Andrews and his wife Faith Andrews. They were instrumental in acquiring the finest examples of Shaker furniture for collectors during the mid-20th century. The Shaker candle stand (1959.75) is considered the finest of its kind by collectors of Shaker furniture and is one of two items that our founders stipulated should never leave the Museum on loan.

  Dallas Pratt Collections

  Renaissance Maps: Dallas Pratt began collecting historical maps as a teenager. In 1988, Dr. Pratt gifted his 200 maps to the Museum – one of the finest Renaissance map collections in Europe. These maps show the changes in cartography during the ‘Age of Discovery’ and document early European exploration and understanding of America. Although most of the maps are printed examples from the 16th century, the collection also includes significant manuscript drawings from as early as the 12d century.

  Compassionate Eye: Another passion of Pratt’s was animal welfare and in 1994 his collection of over 100 animal prints – collectively known as the Compassionate Eye Collection – was donated to the Museum. This collection includes significant late 19th and early 20h century artists and depicts American landscapes and animals.

  Indigenous North American material culture

  A popular collection at the Museum and one that is central to one of the most asked for school programmes. Most pieces from the collection are 19th and 20th century. There are a few items that are older. The Museum is actively seeking to acquire contemporary pieces to add to this collection.

  New Mexico Religious Art

  The Museum holds a small but significant collection of santos, 2D and 3D Christian iconography produced by itinerant artists in the American southwest. Key artists working in the 18h and 19h centuries are represented by work in the collection.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2023

  Licence: CC BY-NC