Bolt c. 1939

John Petrucci made this drawing of a bolt, with graphite and colored pencil on paper. It might seem odd to consider this as something more than just a technical drawing, but let’s think about what it represents in terms of institutional history. This drawing comes from a time when there was a very different kind of relationship between institutions like museums and the crafts. We see the bolt centered on the page, with a careful attention to its design. We can imagine that this bolt was intended for a particular building, perhaps even a grand public space. It’s not just a functional object but also an aesthetic one. In the United States, at the turn of the 20th century, there was a great Arts and Crafts movement that influenced art education and taste. Objects like this, carefully designed and beautifully rendered, show the social value given to craftmanship in that period. By looking at the museum archives and the records of design schools, we can get a real sense of what that movement meant.