The Craftsmanship of Charles Rohlfs

The Craftsmanship of Charles Rohlfs, Burchfield Art Center, Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY, February 19 - April 10, 1994

Guest Curator Michael L. James, author of the catalogue titled Drama in Design: The Life and Craft of Charles Rohlfs

This was the first solo exhibition of works by Charles Rohlfs, one of the most original designers of the Arts & Crafts movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rohlfs spent most of his career in Buffalo, from his arrival in 1884 until his death in 1936. He rose to prominence after exhibiting his furniture designs at the Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo in 1901. Rohlfs' unique style was acclaimed for its combination of rectilinear Arts & Crafts line, nature-inspired forms, Gothic complexity, and sinuous Art Nouveau ornament. Rohlfs' contributions to American design were presented within the context of his spiritual and aesthetic philosophies.

The exhibition and catalogue were supported by the Architecture, Planning, and Design Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, the City of Buffalo, Erie County, Frank L. Ciminelli Construction Co., Inc., Key Bank of New York, Eaton Galleries of Buffalo, New York, and Danny Smutz.

Photographs document the interior of Rohlf’s home at 105 Norwood Avenue, Buffalo, c. 1905-1909 as well as the exterior and interior of his home at 156 Park Street, Buffalo, c. 1922

James, p. 87: “Through the 1920s, the Rohlfs eased into retirement.  Anna Katharine [Green] completed her last novel in 1922 and Charles moved his shop to a small space in the Market Arcade on Main Street.”  (617 Main Street listed in The Buffalo Artists’ Register, 1926.) On page 88 a photograph illustrates “Rohlfs…in front of his shop at 507-09 Ellicottt Street, c. 1920.”