Modernism Museum Mount Dora

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The argument the collection makes is that a chair or a staircase can be a work of art on the same terms as a painting. Wharton Esherick, called the dean of American craftsmen, is the earlier of the two figures it is built around; he carried the Arts and Crafts movement through into postwar furniture design, and his Spiral Stair, which stood at the 1940 World's Fair, is the centerpiece here. His Andante to Nocturne sculptures and a walnut table from 1929 discovered only recently are shown with it. Wendell Castle, the father of the American studio art movement, is the second; his Stool Sculpture, Bronze Angel Chair and Tick Tock Kick Clock are here along with the two-story installation New Environment. The museum opens Thursday through Sunday from eleven until five. Admission is charged, with reduced rates for seniors, students and children, and a half-price rate for Mount Dora residents and military