Through a generous donation by collector Charles Rand Penney, the Burchfield Penney Art Center acquired an exceptional collection of publications and hand-crafted objects made of wood, metal, ceramics, glass and leather, finely wrought by the community of Roycrofters who resided in East Aurora, New York from 1895 through 1938. To share these and other Roycroft pieces, the Burchfield Penney created a new gallery space.
In addition, a comprehensive collection catalog was compiled to document the museum’s Roycroft Collection, with an essay by Arts & Crafts author Barbara Mayer, illustrations of major works, and a complete listing of all the Burchfield Penney’s Roycroft holdings. The project was funded by the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the James Carey Evans Endowment.
Related programs included a walking tour of Parkside area architecture and lectures on "The History and Renaissance of the Roycroft Movement" and "Decorating in the Arts and Crafts Style," by Robert Rust and Kitty Turgeon Rust, respectively, who are noted experts on the Roycroft movement and involved with the East Aurora campus.