NEW YORK – “Wharton Esherick: Synthesizing Art, Design, Crafts, Architecture,” a program honoring the founding father of the studio furniture movement, will be held on Wednesday, March 28 at 6 p.m. at the New York School of Interior Design.
At a time when America was enamored with consumerism and mass industry, a painter named Wharton Esherick (1887-1970) moved to a small farm outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began making sculptural wood furniture one piece at a time.

This program explores Esherick’s vision, influence and impact on modern design in America.

It begins with a screening of  I Am Known as an Artist, Wharton Esherick by Carolyn Coal. This 41-minute documentary, created over three years with the full cooperation of the Wharton Esherick Museum and unprecedented access to its archives, brings together hundreds of photographs with pre-recorded oral histories and interviews with contemporary woodworkers, historians, members of the Esherick Museum staff, Esherick family members, and patrons.

The screening is followed by a panel discussion with Carolyn Coal, the filmmaker; Dr. Robert Aibel, collector, scholar, and dealer; and Paul Eisenhauer, former executive director and curator of the Wharton Esherick Museum. It is moderated by design historian Dr. Daniella Ohad.

A reception in the NYSID gallery concludes the program, which is sponsored in its entirety by the Rago Arts and Auction Center and Moderne Gallery. Address: 170 E. 70th St., New York City.

Tickets may be purchased the New York School of Interior Design’s website .

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