Made in Tennessee

Today we are excited to be talking about samplers--needlework textiles created in the 19th century by young girls (and sometimes boys!) to teach them how to mend, monogram, and embellish their household fabrics. We speak with two textile experts, Julia Doyle, the curator of fashion and textiles at the Tennessee State Museum, and Jennifer Core, whose new book, Tennessee Samplers: Female Education and Domestic Arts, 1800–1900, written with Janet Hasson, has recently been released by the University of Tennessee Press. Julia and Jennifer help us understand how to identify key characteristics of samplers and share tips on preserving them for future generations.

You might ask what art conservation has to do with Tennessee material culture, but the work Cynthia does not only keeps our state’s treasures in a stable form to last for generations, it also has given her a unique view and visual expertise when thinking about the formal aspects of Tennessee’s art history. We’re going to delve into that perspective and learn more about the role of a conservator and also hear about an exciting project Cynthia has been working on around two of Tennessee’s most prolific 19th century painters.

Welcome to our inaugural podcast!  Today we welcome Tracey Parks. Tracey is an avid student and collector of Tennessee decorative arts, and for the past thirty five years his research has specialized in the study of the furniture makers of the Volunteer state working before 1840. His in-depth investigation of the subject seeks to reveal the lives of craftsmen in context with their work and the world through which they moved. We will talk with Tracey about how he became interested in Tennessee furniture, his work editing the groundbreaking The Art and  Mystery of Tennessee Furniture, his support for MESDA, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art, and his thoughts about furniture on the auction market.