Handicraft Guild

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The Handicraft Guild was an organization central to Arts and Crafts movement active in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, from 1904 to 1918. The Handicraft guild was founded, led, and staffed primarily by women, making it historically significant to women's art movements nationwide. [1]

Contents

History

The Arts and Crafts movement in Minneapolis valued patience, cooperation, and knowledge, as well as populism and democratic access to the arts. The Minneapolis Arts and Crafts Society was organized in 1899 in Minneapolis, building upon the Chalk and Chisel Club which had held an arts and crafts exhibit in 1898. The movement appealed to women and men who were of European descent and part of the emerging urban middle class. [1]

The Handicraft Guild building, built 1907. Handicraft Building 2.jpg
The Handicraft Guild building, built 1907.

The Handicraft Guild was founded to give local artists and teachers access to the skills necessary to teach crafts in public schools. It was founded in 1904 by eleven women as a Nicollet Avenue showroom which soon began offering classes and workshops. [1] [2] The Guild was an egalitarian school with the mission "[to] give authoritative instruction in design and its solution in terms of materials; also to furnish complete training for students desirous of becoming Craftsmen, Designers and Teachers."[ citation needed ]

In 1905, the Guild officially incorporated an began offering successful summer school courses. Linton Bookwalter, an interior designer, and Ernest Batchelder, a renowned tile maker, were two artists involved with the summer courses. The Guild moved to a larger space in 1907 to a new building designed by William Channing Whitney, and became a center of artistic activity in Minneapolis. The new building included workshops, classrooms, studios, a showroom, and an assembly hall. [1] [2] [3]

The Guild was dissolved in 1918 and absorbed by the Art Education department at the University of Minnesota. Ruth Raymond, the Guild president at the time, became the chair of the new department. [1]

Description

The Guild created stone and metal art works. Its pupils included Grant Wood. [4] It sold handmade metalwork, ceramics, leather, jewelry, and hand-bound books. [5]

The Handicraft Guild was revived after the turn of the 21st century and is a leading influence on the Arts in Minneapolis.[ citation needed ]

The Handicraft Guild Building is located at 89 10th Street South, Minneapolis, Minnesota and still stands today thanks to the efforts of the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission. The building is now part of the City Lights Apartments high rise and is used as a brewpub. [6]

Correspondence, photographs, and general research about topics, organizations, and individuals involved in or associated with the Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis are held by the Minnesota Historical Society. [7]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cartwright, R. L. (March 1, 2012). "Handicraft Guild". MNopedia . Minnesota Historical Society.
  2. 1 2 "Handicraft Guild". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  3. ↑ Anderson, Marcia G. (1994). "Art for Life's Sake: The Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis". Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi, 1890-1915 (PDF). Associated University Press. pp. 122–145. ISBN   0-87413-560-5.
  4. ↑ Conforti, Michael (June 1994). Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi 1890-1915: Minnesota 1900 (The American Arts) (PDF). University of Delaware Press. p. 333. ISBN   0-87413-560-5.
  5. ↑ "Spoon, 1905-18". ArtsMIA. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  6. ↑ Carlen, Sam (18 June 2019). "Downtown's Handicraft Guild Building will host a new brewpub". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "Marcia G Anderson Handicraft Guild of Minneapolis research files". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
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