The Infinite Curve in Deerfield Work

Although trained in a blacksmith shop rather than at an art school, Cornelius Kelley deftly incorporated Arts and Crafts design features into his hand-crafted domestic objects. A comparison of his Wrought Iron Candelabra with The Last Rose of Summer by the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework highlights their shared naturalistic tendencies. Each of these strongly-symmetrical compositions has as its focus a pair of spiraling curves which emanate from the design's center line. While it is obvious that the leaf strewn branches of the embroidery have been abstracted from nature, one also senses that Kelly's dynamic curves are organic in origin.

Left image: The Last Rose of Summer, Deerfield Society of Blue & White Needlework, Memorial Hall Museum, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association

Right image: Wrought Iron Candelabra, Cornelius Kelley, Memorial Hall Museum, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association