This section looks at exhibitions from the mid–1970s to the mid–1990s, all of which were temporary and held within the United States. The influence of Edward Deming and Faith Andrews was beginning to wane as new interpretations were coming to the fore. Mainly these drew on the work of June Sprigg, the curator and writer. In addition, a considerable amount of theoretical work from numerous academic studies in material culture was beginning to exert an influence upon interpretations of Shaker material throughout this period.

The last quarter of the twentieth century saw an explosion in mass communication and worldwide travel on a scale previously undreamt of. This allowed not only greater movement of ideas across continents but also encouraged the increase in specialisation and a move towards what became known as interdisciplinary studies. We can see how, for example, an exhibition at the Whitney Museum on Shaker design would attract a far greater degree of European press coverage than would have been the case 20 years before. Exhibitions were being organised with highly specialised aspects of the Shaker aesthetic being examined, such as the chair.

We also detail in this section the onset of the commercialisation of Shaker reproductions both in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the opening of the Shaker Shop in London influencing the infiltration of the aesthetic into British homes. As with the previous section details on sales and auctions appear alongside popular culture interpretations of the Shaker aesthetic and these in turn are placed within a global context.

Influences taken from Museum Culture

The book Design History and the History of Design states: ‘As we have seen in the case of the Shakers, a visual style can be integral to a way of life. In the past, divisions between ranks and classes tended to be much more sharply defined and cross–class mobility far more restricted than today.’ The period 1976–94 saw an unprecedented increase in social mobility linked with a general rise in prosperity in the West. This led to greater international mobility with an increase in travel amongst social groups for whom it had previously been out of reach, and the spread of information via print and electronic media which opened up the world to large groups of people in Europe and the United States.