The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge: The Lipton Collection and Contemporary Wood Art traces the growth of contemporary wood art through our shared relationship with trees, traditions of woodworking, influential art movements, and the cultural milieu of the 20th century. At its height, the Lipton Collection featured over 2,000 works by 115 artists. Building the collection during a period when the field had not yet coalesced into a major movement, Dr. Lipton was instrumental in developing the careers of leading figures and bringing attention to their work. As these individuals in turn had a major impact on the field, Dr. Lipton s value as a patron of the arts was invaluable. I viewed writing this book to be a tremendous responsibility, says the book s author, Kevin Wallace. Dr. Lipton s legacy was so intimately intertwined with the legacies of the artists, and I sought to accurately record the history of the contemporary wood art field. Toward this end, Wallace created a work that is essentially an oral history of the field of contemporary wood art, told by the artists who created the field, and with commentary by museum curators and directors.