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"Interest in American folk art has increased steadily over recent years and is more widespread today than ever before--yet the full scope of this tradition has never until now been published in a single volume or presented in a single exhibition. This comprehensive book illustrates more than 400 outstanding examples produced during the period of its finest flowering. The authors, selecting from more than 10,000 objects, have discussed and illustrated the works in four major categories: pictures, painted, drawn and stitched; sculpture; architectural decoration; decorated household objects. The extraordinary range and quality of American folk art are revealed by such diverse subjects as portraits, genre and religious scenes, ship figure-heads, weathervanes, toys, tinware, tavern signs, painted furniture, quilts, and works in many other categories. Though primitive or naïve in the sense they were fashioned by men or women who were primarily craftsmen or amateur artists rather than "fine" artists, these objects each possess an originality, a power and a beauty that place them in the mainstream of the American artistic tradition. In addition to the illustrations, more than 100 in color, there are brief essays on each type of object, detailed captions for each work, biographical notes on the artists, and a selected bibliography."--Publisher's description.