Drutt amasses a gift for Russia

Helen Drutt, Philadelphia czarina of the American crafts renaissance of the last half century, has conveyed a collection of 74 donated works, many of them created by artists with regional associations, to the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"Amazingly I was able to obtain 74 gifts from artists and patrons" from across the country, Drutt said in an e-mail exchange. "The value of the gifts collectively [is] $2 million dollars . . . and they will become a permanent part of the Hermitage collection."

Drutt told The Inquirer at the end of 2013 that the gift would be in honor of the Hermitage's 250th anniversary. The collection goes on display Dec. 2, in an exhibition titled "Gifts From America: 1948-2013."

Next year, Drutt's entire Philadelphia dining room, from the octagonal table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings to the silk pieces by her grandmother, will go on view at the Hermitage.

In the catalog accompanying the exhibition of donated works, Drutt wrote that "the aim of 'Gifts From America' is that the artworks will provide a catalyst for all and an exchange of ideas that serves as a bridge to bring our lives together."

Pavel Rodzianko, president of the Hermitage Museum Foundation, told the RIA Novosti news agency that "almost everything in the collection is unique." He cited, for instance, a brooch designed by Robin Kraniztky and Kim Overstreet dedicated to the 2000 U.S.-Russia summit. "It depicts an American eagle clasping the wing of a Russian eagle," he said.

The 74 works range from Two Island Bay (1984), a glazed earthenware bowl by Wayne Higby, to Moon-Mad (1986), an earthenware sculptural piece by Mark Burns, and furniture by New Hope's George Nakashima.

More than a third of the artists represented have Philadelphia ties, through birth, training, or employment. Many have taught at Temple's Tyler School of Art, the University of the Arts, or Moore College of Art and Design. That heavy concentration reflects the region's importance in the evolution of contemporary American crafts, which has received immeasurable support from Drutt, who has run a gallery here, cofounded the Philadelphia Council of Professional Craftsmen, and has written extensively on crafts of all kinds.

The collection donated to the Hermitage features such area artists as Jill Bonovitz, Doug Bucci, William Daley, Judith Schaechter, Warren Seelig, Rudolf Staffel, Lizbeth Stewart, Paula Winokur, and Robert Winokur.

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