CWA had another very successful program at SOFA in Chicago, meeting from November 3 to 5, 2000. This followed up on the momentum created by Collectors' Choice in 1999 when CWA attracted more than 200 members to its annual forum. Such success prompted the CWA Board to vote to maintain a permanent presence at SOFA Chicago, either for the annual Forum or for a meeting.

More galleries presented work in wood:

• Blue Spiral 1, NC
• British Crafts Council, England
• del Mano Gallery, CA
• Gallery Materia, AZ
• Leo Kaplan Modern, NY
• John Natsoulas Gallery, CA
• R. Duane Reed Gallery, MO
• William Zimmer Gallery, CA

CWA notes with pride that the number of galleries showing wood art jumped significantly in 2000 over 1999. The enthusiasm generated by CWA’s Collectors' Choice in 1999 demonstrated that there is an appreciative audience for wood art among collectors in all media. Collectors of glass, ceramics and fiber, attracted to booths displaying wood art, found a wide selection of good work at SOFA Chicago. We were heartened by the turnout.
Lecture by William Hunter - "The Influence of Collectors on Artists"
Our program began on Friday morning with an impressive presentation by William Hunter in which he very graciously paid tribute to the collector and the role the collector plays, not only in nourishing an artist, but also in inspiring an artist's work. He particularly extolled Dr. Irving Lipton, who was his major patron in the early years of his career. Bill acknowledged the contributions of several other collectors as well.

Panel - "What Do You Do With Your Collection After It Is Collected? Donate? Bequeath? Sell?"

Panelists included:

Dr. Judith A. Barter, Field-McCormick Curator of American Art, Art Institute of Chicago

Dr. Kimerly Rorschach, Director, Smart Museum of Art of the University of Chicago

Holly Hotchner, Director of the American Craft Museum, New York City

Marcus Tremonto, 20th Century Specialist in Chicago for Sotheby's

Moderated by Arthur Mason, the lecture addressed the question we all have: What we will do with our collections? Donate? Bequeath? Sell? The distinguished panel outlined the issues from the perspective of the museum and what museums want. Panelists stressed how imperative consultation and cooperation between collector and museum are when planning a gift program.

The panel discussed in depth of the tax issues involved and speculated as to the affect of the proposed elimination of the federal estate tax. Marcus Tremonto suggested an auction as an alternative to gifts of wood art, explaining the great potential the auction process has for the development of crafts in general and wood art in particular. He noted that the auction also could be a method for collectors, working with museums, to earmark the proceeds for museum purposes.

Artist Slide Show

On Saturday, we had the traditional CWA slide show, organized by Joe Seltzer. Limited to nine artists, the slide show featured those who were the "runners-up" in the 1999 Collectors' Choice exhibit at SOFA. Each artist had time to give us a good view of his or her current work. Those showing were Merryll Saylan, Connie Mississippi, Bruce Mitchell, Phil Moulthrop, Betty Scarpino, Hayley Smith, Michael Brolly, J. Paul Fennell and Mike Shuler. A special feature of the afternoon was a surprise visit from Ed and Mae Moulthrop, who attended the presentation and received a standing ovation.

Arthur Mason