Freeman’s to sell notable works by Wharton Esherick from historic Hedgerow Theatre Collection
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Notable works from the historic Hedgerow Theatre by renowned American artist and woodworker Wharton Esherick will come to auction for the first time on March 31 in Philadelphia. Representing decades of creative exchange between the master woodworker and the Theatre, this significant collection leads Freeman’s forthcoming Design auction. The collection—which includes eight of Esherick’s earliest “Hammer-Handle” chairs and the important “Thunder Table” from 1929—celebrates Esherick’s lengthy and seminal relationship with the Theatre and demonstrates its considerable influence on his evolution as an artist and craftsman.
Freeman’s will present these exemplary pieces of Pennsylvania’s cultural history at auction. Proceeds from the sale will benefit future preservation of Hedgerow Theatre and will assist them in fulfilling their mission as a professional theatre ensemble and theatre school as well as a cultural center. It will enable them to continue their steadfast commitment to progress, education, and artistic excellence that has impacted countless cultural institutions and artists nationwide for nearly a century.
Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), heralded as the “Dean of American Craftsmen” and among the vanguard of the Studio Furniture Movement, began working in wood at the close of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Although embracing the ideology that valued the hand-made over the industrially produced, he broke with the movement’s more traditional aesthetic, creating sculptural and cutting-edge forms. Esherick was introduced to the Hedgerow Theatre in nearby Rose Valley, Pennsylvania and to its founding Artistic Director Jasper Deeter (1893-1972) in 1923.
Esherick began designing pieces for the Hedgerow Theatre in exchange for his daughter’s acting lessons. Initially involved in set, costume and lighting design, Esherick went on to create woodblock posters for various productions and furniture for both the Theatre and nearby Hedgerow House, which served as the home to Theatre company members. Over the years, the Theatre’s Green Room housed many temporary and permanent works by Esherick, operating as an unofficial gallery and exhibition space for the artist.
COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS
Leading the auction is the iconic “Thunder Table”, carved by Esherick in 1929 in celebration of the success of the Theatre’s production of Thunder on the Left in which his daughter Mary appeared. The table stands on two splayed and hinged legs; its top is composed of two long, found wooden boards, each with a perceptibly warped end. Having spent much of his time on the Theatre’s balcony sketching the various dancers and actors on stage, Esherick carved a minimalist curvilinear drawing of the play’s leading actors into one of the table’s ends. The “Thunder Table” has been on display in the Theatre’s Green Room for many years before which it had been in use by decades of actors and visitors.
Also on offer is the set of stairs Esherick built in the Theatre’s former lobby in the mid-1930s to create more room for the box office. As a replacement for the old set of Arts & Crafts stairs, he designed and built one of his signature idiosyncratic staircases, with gently curving steps fanning out from a two-foot central column. Because of their nontraditional design, Esherick’s stairs failed to pass fire-code inspection and were deemed unusable for ushering theatergoers from the lobby to the balcony. Other examples of Esherick’s staircases are presently in the collections of the Wolfsonian-FIU in Miami Beach, Florida; the Modernism Museum in Mount Dora, Florida; and the Wharton Esherick Museum in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Additional works on offer include a Sawbuck Table used at Hedgerow House; a Trestle Table that purportedly came from Esherick’s own collection; and eight “Hammer-Handle” chairs. The chairs, assembled in part from found axe and hammer handles by Esherick, are among the most iconic and significant of his creations; examples are presently in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Wharton Esherick Museum in Chester County, Pennsylvania; The Museum of Art & Design in New York, New York; and the Longhouse Reserve in Long Island, New York, among others.
VIEWING & EXHIBITIONS
The “Thunder Table” is presently on view in Freeman’s new flagship gallery at 2400 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additional highlights from the Hedgerow Theatre Collection will be on view in Freeman’s Main Line Gallery in Wayne, Pennsylvania beginning February 10. The full exhibition for the March 31 Design Auction will be open to the public March 27-30 at 2400 Market Street. The staircase will remain at Hedgerow Theatre prior to the auction; please contact Freeman’s to schedule an appointment for viewing.
