Collection Spotlight: Zulma Steele, Wild Carrot Cabinet

At the turn of the 20th century, Byrdcliffe Art Colony was one of the first American utopian artist colonies where artists, writers, craftsmen, and musicians inhabited the community year-round selling their designs to support the community. Craftspeople at Byrdcliffe dabbled in almost every art form associated with the movement − metalwork, pottery, weaving, jewelry, woodworking, painting and photography. However, the colony is most known for their furniture.

Zulma Steele (1881-1979) is considered one of the pioneering women of the of the Arts and Crafts Movement and an influential artist at Byrdcliffe. She practiced her art for twenty years at the colony and was considered the lead designer. Steele’s work is inspired by nature as seen in the Wild Carrot Cabinet on display in the Byrdcliffe corner of the Furniture Gallery, located on MAACM’s 5th floor.

This elegant form is suggestive of eighteenth-century design and the door’s paintings, of wild carrot, also known as Queen Anne’s lace, was inspired by the local wild carrot that grows in upstate New York. Unusual to Byrdcliffe furniture, this piece has a formality and a high degree of finish with use of mahogany wood, making this piece unique.

The Byrdcliffe Colony is an important part of the Arts and Crafts movement and it remains as a true reminder of the core values of the movement. Recent additions have been made to the 5th floor Furniture Gallery’s Byrdcliffe area adding images and history of the colony and a few select artists including Steele.