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Mission
The
American Decorative Arts Forum (ADAF) is a support group
of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Forum
dedicates itself to the study, understanding, enjoyment
and preservation of American fine and decorative arts
from their earliest beginnings to the present.
American
decorative arts are the surviving objects of American
make or use, such as furniture, lighting devices,
ceramics, silver, textiles, utensils and other
household decorations. Decorative arts are
distinguished from fine art-usually paintings, sculpture
and architecture-in two ways: first, the objects were
usually made to serve a purpose superseding the
aesthetic merit they may possess; and second, their
maker, whether a school girl, silversmith, itinerant
artist or cabinetmaker, generally did not consider
themselves an "artist" in the way we define that word
today. The decorative arts serve to document
an historical period and way of life; they allow us
today to understand better our diverse but collective
past.
Since its
founding in 1983, the Forum has earned a national
reputation for excellent programs. Lectures given by
leading scholars in the field of American decorative
arts are presented at the de Young Museum in Golden
Gate Park, San Francisco, at 8pm on the second
Tuesday of each month. The group also offers more
intensive study opportunities in the form of special
seminars and
lectures. | 
