Exhibition

BFA Visual & Critical Studies presents the exhibition “Design & Document: The Folly Cove Designers,” on view Tuesday, November 26, through Friday, January 3, 2025. A fully illustrated catalog with an essay by Heather Atwood will be available.

Between 1938 and 1969, a group of friends and neighbors, under the direction of renowned children’s book illustrator Virginia Lee Burton, created designs and linoleum block prints inspired by the flora, fauna, seascape, and vibrant immigrant community of Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

This body of work, almost all handprinted on textiles, reveals the idealism of the American dream without any cynicism—a capsule of our culture that may be viewed as nostalgic but more importantly, as a group effort that reveals the beauty and possibilities of collaboration. Today, the work of the Folly Cove Designers can be seen as an example of American Regionalism at its finest and a testament that some of the most enduring artworks can be born of hard work and humble origins. The exhibition—appropriately hanging in the gallery run by BFA Visual & Critical Studies—is as much about teaching, mastering concepts and respecting techniques, as it is about the work displayed.

Curated by industrial designer Lucia Steele and faculty member Peter Hristoff (BFA 1981 Fine Arts).

Photo: Jean Vong