19th-century American Decorative Arts

Parlor Period Room Setting in Fountain Elms circa 1850

The Decorative Arts Department comprises 19th-century American silver, glass, ceramics, furniture and textiles. The renowned furniture collection includes important pieces by makers such as Charles Baudouine, John Henry Belter, Herter Brothers, Kimbel & Cabus, Leon Marcotte, J. & J.W. Meeks, Anthony Quervelle and Alexander Roux. A silver-plated table exhibited by Tiffany & Co. at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition is featured in the silver collection, along with other pieces by Tiffany, Gorham Mfg., George Shiebler and Lincoln & Foss. The ceramic collection is highlighted by the largest public holding of Oneida County stoneware, made from the 1830s through the early 20th century.

The Museum's decorative arts also encompass the Proctor Collection. These are works gathered by the Institute's founding families. The spectrum of objects ranges from Tiffany glass and Chinese and Japanese ceramics to Victorian-era collections of thimbles, fans, and souvenir spoons. A focal point of the Proctor Collection is the collection of 300 decorative European timepieces, ranging in date from circa. 1575 through the early 20th century, gathered by Frederick and Thomas Proctor.

Decorative arts are on view in the paintings galleries as well as in period room settings and galleries in Fountain Elms, an 1850 historic Italianate mansion and the former home of the Institute's founders. Recent publications relating to the decorative arts collection include Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (1998), Jewels of Time: Watches from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (2001) and A Brass Menagerie: Metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement (2005).