WILLIAM HUNT DIEDERICH

Diederich's interest in the decorative arts began early in his career, and appears to have been a natural extension of his sculptural work. He would eventually extend his artistic interests to a wide range of household objects, including ceramics, stair railings, and even designs for chairs. In an interview from 1919, Diederich explained, 'There can be as much aesthetic joy in making a candlestick or designing the leg of a table as in the treatment of a nude. Personally, I like to work in as many different media as possible. Sculpture has been too long an affair of marble and bronze. It is too remote, too inaccessible. We must do everything possible to extend its scope and appeal, to ensure for it a wider, more popular acceptance.' Many of these drawings are on record with the Archives of American Art as part of the permanent record of Diederich's oeuvre.