Shaker--Life, Work, and Art: Life, Work, and Art

by David Larkin and June Sprigg

Book Overview

Although only a handful of the Brothers and Sisters of America's unique Shaker community are left, the Shaker legacy lives on in the architecture, furniture, crafts, and inventions they created.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556700113
• ISBN13: 9781556700118
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 3.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

Connecting the spiritual with the temporal

June Sprigg's great introduction to the Shakers has happily been reprinted. It is a most beautiful book.It's rare that something that looks at first glance like a "coffee table book" that should be admired largely for its pictures but that also contains such a thoughtful and illuminating text.There is no other book that shows as clearly how the Shakers connected practicality and simplicity with elegance and harmony of design. The photographs are subtle, understated but quite lovely to linger over. It's easy to dismiss the Shakers as a fringe group, and few up us would embrace their doctrine of celibacy. But June Sprigg documents the appeal of their fundamental values: Do all your work as if it was to last for 1,000 years, but live your life as if you knew that the Judgment Day was coming tomorrow. Her ability to articulate this apparent paradox makes this a spiritually moving book.Buy it as a gift for anyone interested in design, or with a serious interest in religion. And be sure to order two copies--you'll want one yourself.

A beautiful book...

Shaker: Life, Work and Art is a beautiful book. I first saw acopy several years ago and was disappointed to learn that thehardcover version was out of print. The book has short narrative sections that provide insight into Shaker history, work, and communal and spiritual life. One section captures a "typical" day in the life of the Brethren and Sisters. The enlarged font is easy on the eyes and the top of each narrative page is headed by the famous Shaker wall pegs. The narrative sections are separated by numerous pages of high quality, well-captioned color photographs of Shaker crafts, furniture, and architecture. Lots of beautiful pictures! The Shakers legacy still seems to have a profound impact on our contemporary lives in spite of (or perhaps because of) the simplicity of their work and their unusual communal way of life. Although this book does not present a comprehensive history of the Shakers, it does an admirable job of providing an insight into the lives of these interesting people. This book is deserving of any coffee table and should get a lot of attention in your household. END