Design, craft, and American identity : Russel Wright's "American-Way" project, 1940-2

Abstract

This paper examines the ideas and objects of the American-Way project for what they express about America’s mid-century cultural and design contexts. Situating the project within the career and ideological framework of Russel Wright, the paper examines the structure and intent of the American-Way program, analyzes a representative sample of its designs, and details its outcomes. Building on previous scholarship on Russel Wright’s prolific industrial design career, this paper examines the American-Way project as a tangible expression of Wright’s ideas about native American design, American mid-century lifestyle, and good design for all of the buying public. It further places the American-Way project at the center of significant movements in design in the pre-World War II period.