UPK book on Kentucky art and culture wins Alice Award

University Press of Kentucky’s "Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts and American Culture," edited by Andrew Kelly and sponsored by the Frazier History Museum, has been named the winner of the Alice Award given by Furthermore Grants in Publishing. Furthermore is a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund and is concerned with nonfiction book publishing related to art, architecture and design; cultural history; conservation and preservation; the city; and public issues of the day.

“It is a privilege to be in the company of the other distinguished publications shortlisted for the Alice Award,” Kelly said. “I am delighted that 'Kentucky by Design' has been recognized by the Furthermore Foundation, and honored to accept the Alice Award on behalf of all the outstanding scholars, experts and museum professionals nationwide who made this book possible.”

The Alice Award was established in 2013 by Joan Davidson, president of Furthermore, in honor of her mother Alice Kaplan. Kaplan, vice president of the Kaplan Fund, was a well-known patron, scholar and activist in the arts, who urged the foundation to support music, dance, libraries and the visual arts. She loved and collected illustrated books as works of art and considered them essential documents in a civilized society. The Alice Award is dedicated to recognizing and cherishing the lasting values of the well-made illustrated book, and the special sense of intimacy it affords. Each year a jury of distinguished leaders in publishing and the arts selects the winning Alice book from the hundreds of eligible titles that have been supported by Furthermore.

"Kentucky by Design" celebrates the 80^th anniversary of the Federal Art Project’s (FAP) Index of American Design. The FAP was established at the height of the Great Depression under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. One of the aims of this project was to collect and record the history of American material culture, and it culminated in the creation of the Index of American Design. This work, while intended for a wide audience, was never published.

Now, after 80 years, Kentucky’s contributions to the Index of American Design have at last been compiled in "Kentucky by Design." Kelly has gathered the contributions of experts to catalog prime examples of the state’s decorative arts that were featured in the index, pairing the original FAP watercolors with contemporary photographs of the same or similar artifacts. He provides information surrounding the history and current location (and, often, the journey in-between) of each piece, as well as local or familial lore surrounding the object. In addition to a wealth of Shaker material, the objects featured include a number of quilts and rugs as well as a wide assortment of everyday items, from powder horns and candle lanterns to glass flasks and hand-crafted instruments.

The winner of the Alice Award will receive a $25,000 cash prize, which will be presented at a reception in the Rare Book Room at Strand Books on Oct. 25. The Alice Award “provides important and deserved confirmation of the press’ achievement,” noted Jerrold Hirsch, a contributor to the volume and author of "Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers’ Project." “I am proud to be part of such a beautiful and important book.”

Andrew Kelly, trained at Sotheby’s New York, is a Helena Rubinstein Fellow of the Whitney Museum of American Art and has authored and edited numerous monographs and catalogs on the fine and decorative arts. He has worked in association with many institutions, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters, McNay Art Museum, Harry Ransom Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lisbon Ajuda National Palace Museum, Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation Palma de Mallorca, Russian State Museum at the Marble Palace, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum and the Tate Gallery London.

University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, representing a consortium that includes all of the state universities, five private colleges and two historical societies. The press’ editorial program focuses on the humanities and the social sciences. Offices for the administrative, editorial, production and marketing departments of the press are found at UK, which provides financial support toward the operating expenses of the publishing operation through the UK Libraries.