The Furniture Society, a Virginia-based, international, nonprofit organization, is honoring three outstanding artist-craftsmen this June at its sixth annual conference at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Wisc. The recipients of the society’s Award of Distinction for lifetime achievement in the studio furniture arts are two British masters, John Makepeace and Alan Peters, both of whom received one of England’s highest honors, the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for their service to furniture design, and American master Jere Osgood, who is designated a distinguished Fellow by the American Craft Council.

“Each of the Furniture Society award recipients has fundamentally shaped the direction of the studio furniture movement as a maker, teacher and author,” says Michael Monroe, former curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithson-ian American Art Museum. “Each offers a compelling example of the craftsman working with integrity to the highest standard of design and construction, earning a living at his craft.”

The artists

John Makepeace, who started his career in the late 1950s, is heralded as one of the finest furniture makers in the United Kingdom. In Britain magazine recently wrote of Makepeace, “John has become one of the most highly regarded fine furniture makers in modern times … His work, uncompromising in its quality and craftsmanship, is distinguished by fusion of innovation and experiment, with a genuine respect for tradition.”

Alan Peters, co-author of the “Encyclopedia of Furniture Making” and author of “Cabinetmaking: The Professional Approach,” is considered one of the leading members of the British Arts and Crafts movement. Peters, who began his career in the early 1950s, still has a profound influence on the furniture-making world and will be teaching a course this summer at The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine.

Jere Osgood, whose work is in the collections of the American Craft Museum and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has had his own studio since 1957. Osgood says that while he will continue teaching short workshops, he has developed a lamination process for furniture that he hopes will lead to new designs and a new line of furniture.

The awards program will include three other makers, distinguished in their own right, who will present the award to their colleagues. Chris Rose, Academic Leader of 3-D Design and Craft at the University of Brighton, England, will present the award to his colleague, John Makepeace; Michael Fortune, a Canadian furniture maker, will present the award to his mentor, Alan Peters; and Thomas Hucker, an American artist-craftsman, will present the award to his teacher, Jere Osgood.

Previous recipients of the Furniture Society’s Award of Distinction include Arthur Espenet Carpenter, Wendell Castle, Tage Frid, James Krenov and Sam Maloof.

Heather Skelly is associate editor of The Crafts Report.