Jere Osgood (7 February 1936 –10 October 2023) was an American
studio furniture maker, and teacher of furniture and
woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked b ...
. He taught for many years in the .
Early life and education
Jere Osgood was born in 1936 and raised in
Staten Island, New York
Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
. He studied architecture at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
but left after two years to pursue furniture design and fabrication. Thereafter, he enrolled at the
School of American Craftsmen at
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
and learned furniture making under
Tage Frid.
Osgood was also influenced by the work of
Wharton Esherick
Wharton Esherick (July 15, 1887 – May 6, 1970) was an American artist and designer. An artistic polymath, he worked in a wide variety of art media including painting, printmaking, and sculpture. His design works range from architectural int ...
. He completed the four-year program in about two years, receiving his B.F.A. in 1960. He supported himself while in school by fabricating and selling small wood objects of his own design. Osgood was interested in the modern furniture being made in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and studied in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
in 1960-1961.
Career
On his return to the United States, Osgood established a studio in
New Milford, Connecticut
New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of Greater Danbury, as well as the New York Metropolitan Area, has a population of 28,115 as of the 2020 census. New Milford lies north of Danbury on the ...
, where he made small objects. In the late 1960s he began to make large projects and explored different techniques of laminating wood. He published his explorations of lamination between 1977 and 1979 in ''
Fine Woodworking'' magazine.
Osgood taught briefly at
Philadelphia College of Art, then at
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...
for three years. In 1975, he moved to
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
where he worked with Dan Jackson and
Alphonse Mattia to build the "Program in Artisanry".
At the time of his death, Osgood resided in
Wilton, New Hampshire
Wilton is a New England town, town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,896 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Like many small New England towns, it grew up arou ...
, where he continued to design and build furniture in his own studio. He was a member of
The Furniture Society (and a recipient of that organization's
Award of Distinction) and
New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association.
Osgood died on October 10, 2023, at the age of 87.
References
Further reading
* "Jere Osgood" in Edward S. Cooke Jr., Gerald W.R. Ward, and Kelly H L'Ecuyer, ''The Maker's Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990'', Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, 2003.
* "Jere Osgood" in Edward S. Cooke, Jr., ''New American Furniture: The Second Generation of Studio Furnituremakers'', Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MA, 1989.
* "Jere Osgood" in Michael A. Stone, ''Contemporary American Woodworkers'', Gibbs M. Smith, Salt Lake City UT, 1986.
External links
Jere Osgood profile at Fine WoodworkingJere Osgood at New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association
1936 births
American woodworkers
American furniture designers
American furniture makers
Artists from New Hampshire
Boston University faculty
People from Wilton, New Hampshire
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2023 deaths