Curator’s Acknowledgments An exhibition of this breadth coming together in less than a year can only be accomplished with the extraordinary optimism, cooperation, and enthusiasm of many people and institutions. Within days of my arrival on campus last fall to take up my new position as the Chipstone Professor of American Decorative Arts, Russell Panczenko came to me with the idea for this exhibition from the Chipstone Foundation’s collection. Knowing little yet about the objects at Chipstone, my first call went to Luke Beckerdite, the Foundation’s curator and executive director, and, in my mind, the most important person who could make this happen. After Luke and I enumerated all the reasons this exhibition could not be done in such a short time frame, we somehow ended ready for the task. From my own vantage point, I could think of no better way than to celebrate new programs in the study of American material culture than to quickly bring some of the marvels of the Chipstone collection from Milwaukee to Madison. The idea of a class to teach about exhibition practices with the opportunity to do hands-on work to bring the show to fruition quickly evolved. I wanted the exhibition to be a broad introduction to the collection and to the latest ways early American decorative arts are being studied. I even thought we could challenge some old ways of thinking about these household objects. I came up with a list of broad themes and Luke and I met at Chipstone on a sunny fall day. The experience is one I shall always remember. With Luke’s intimate scholarly knowledge of the Chipstone collection and the depth of his expertise about the American decorative arts, he immediately suggested the furniture that perfectly demonstrated the decorative arts stories we wished to tell. Quite soon he finalized his plans to leave his position as curator at Chipstone, but promised he would follow this exhibition through to its completion. He never flagged on that promise and it is to him that my greatest thanks are due. Luke provided detailed descriptions, histories, and themes about every furniture piece, arranged necessary photography, gave comments on my essay, and throughout the search for his replacement and in his absence from Milwaukee, helped in every way. His firm guidance as editor of the journal American Furniture for the past six years also has given us many new important studies to ground the stories we wished to tell. Nancy Sazama, administrative coordinator at Chipstone, filled in every gap during the hiatus without a curator on staff, answering continual queries and helping to locate the photographs for the catalog. After Jon Prown was hired as the new director and curator, he stepped in to arrange other important details. The catalog of Chipstone ceramics written by Leslie Grigsby and nearing publication provided all the information needed to study the ceramics. In January the focus shifted to the exhibition class and putting everything together. If I ever doubted the ability for students to rise to any challenge put to them, the ten intrepid students in my course will make me forever proud. They were: James Bryan, Bolaji Campbell, Catherine Cooney, Robert Cozzolini, Ryan Grover, Diana Sacher, Sherri Shokler, Joann Skrypzak, Gabrielle Warren, and Amy Wendland. While each student contributed to specific tasks, special thanks must go to Joanne Skrypzak, who, in her position as the Chipstone project assistant, became my right hand, in managing this task. The students helped refine the themes, selected the prints and ceramics, and wrote all the label copyÑall in about four months. They also performed a thousand duties: researching primary documents and object details, selecting graphic images, drafting a family guide, doing original artwork, and helping to coordinate with Elvehjem staff. If the students performed herculean feats amongst all their competing coursework, so too did the Elvehjem staff. Special thanks are due to Pat Powell, Jerl Richmond, Pam Richardson, and Anne Lucas. Other friends and colleagues have helped in multiple ways. Special object expertise was provided by Beverly Gordon (textiles), Clio March (porcelain), and Andrew Stevens (prints). A coterie of colleagues read my frantic efforts to produce a catalog essay in record time. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these included the faculty and graduate students of the Early Americanists Study Group, and colleagues Julia Murray, Gene Phillips and Gail Geiger in the Art History Department, and Virginia Boyd in Environment, Textiles, and Design. Others who read the essay included James P. Whittenburg, Jon Prown, Luke Beckerdite, and Edward P. Cooke. My husband Carl and daughter Kate patiently went without my time and attention as this task loomed large. My final debt is to Stanley and Polly Stone, who had a remarkable vision for collecting and supporting scholarship in the decorative arts. With the Chipstone Foundation’s stewardship of the Stones’ legacy, a new academic affiliation between the University and Chipstone has been realized. This exhibition is thus, I hope, a fitting celebration of innovative study and appreciation of American material culture as expressed in the decorative arts. Ann Smart Martin Chipstone Professor of American Decorative Arts Department of Art History University of Wisconsin-Madison.