Gustav Stickley is one of the most recognizable names in American furniture. A visionary designer, he was the key driving force in bringing the Arts and Crafts movement to America in the early 1900s. His furniture work included what has become known as the Mission Style. Gustav Stickley: American Craftsman is an unprecedented look at his life and works as told through interviews, archival materials, and a close examination of his most iconic works. The film traces the development and evolution of Stickley's unique style as well as the creation of his diverse businesses, including furniture manufacturing, a ground-breaking Manhattan store, and the Craftsman Magazine and Craftsman Farms – a forerunner of the farm-to-table movement. We visit several key locations in Stickley's lifetime, including his Syracuse home, where he lived and created his first arts and crafts interior; it also details the eventual loss of his businesses, and, after several decades, the rebirth and recognition of the movement he inspired.
