Contrary to popular imagination, the Shakers lived in a brilliantly colorful world. Interior woodwork and floors were painted lively shades of yellow-gold; built-in cabinets were washed in a deep red; furniture and small wares populated rooms with red, yellow, blue, and occasionally green.
The removal of color from Shaker objects and interiors happened gradually – possibly initiated by the Shakers themselves, whose waning membership led to challenges maintaining the bright surfaces. During the first half of the 20th century (coinciding with the American Arts & Crafts Movement), Shaker furniture and crafts became hot commodities in the antiquities market, and many collectors – and even institutions – preferred the stripped-down look of natural wood.
These Shaker pigments were acquired by collectors from Mount Lebanon's North Family (where the famous Shaker chairs were produced) in the 1940s. The spectrum, which includes red, brick red, yellow-ish ochre, periwinkle, and cobalt, represents shades of paints and stains that were applied to Shaker materials. Initially created from the literal ground beneath their feet, pigments were later purchased, and recipes for paints and stains developed according to known/worldly formulas.
“Green color, in vision, to be a sign of increase. All things in a growing state are green. Red always denotes sufferings—tribulation. White represents clean; purified from the stains of sin—accepted. Blue represents heavenly. Azure blue or peach blow color represents Love. Gold denotes pure—rich in goodness. Silver, when spiritually seen, represents Union, for its common currency. Every color has its particular meaning & to such as understand, all such appearances are instructive.” - Elder Calvin Green, 1861
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From agricultural landscapes to architecture, furniture, and domestic tools, the Shakers designed environments to live, work, and worship in community. Harmonious and radically simple, the Shaker world highlights efficiency, sustainability, and innovation — each material thing crafted meticulously and with profound intention. Prototyping Utopia asks: What can contemporary designers and makers draw from the legacy of the Shakers and their ideals? How can we rethink systems of production and consumption to regain agency and create more meaningful, sustainable, and inclusive material landscapes? Like the Shakers, can we craft radical new worlds? 🌏
