Collections
Folk Art & Toys
Charles Moore began collecting Folk Art and Toys during childhood "classic American road trips" with his parents and sister, Mimi.
Over decades he amassed a collection of great breadth and variety, a collection that became "ornament by default" of his homes.
Moore's collection is not only a record of his worldwide travels, but emblematic of his commitment to pluralism, his steadfast belief that all points of view and expression are worthy of attention.
When the pandemic unfolded upon us, the Director Kevin Keim started a project to fully research, catalog, and photograph the collection. He posts images and descriptions of pieces on Instagram where people from around the world add comments about the origins of items from the collection.
To see this project on Instagram, follow @charlesmoorecollection.
Moore/Andersson Compound
From the collection
Folk Art Catalog
When the pandemic suddenly descended upon us, Kevin took advantage of the isolation to finally start cataloging Charles Moore's enormous collection of folk art, toys, and artifacts.
The process is painstaking given the breadth and depth of the collection, for which Charles kept no records as he gathered vast sums of objects throughout a lifetime of traveling. Each of the items is assessed and cleaned. Repairs or restoration are made with sensitivity and care—and in most cases are reversible. Kevin Keim photographs every object from many different angles with studio screens, lamps, and strobe lights. (So far, he has taken over 10,000 photographs.) He also built a custom relational database where he enters all of the information and specifications for each item. He continues with research about each item's origin and artist. Finally, he posts many representative pieces on Instagram @charlesmoorecollection. Collectors, artists, and curators often add suggestions and comments about the research.
Add to the Folk Art Collection
We also welcome additions to the collection for care and display in Austin, Santa Monica Canyon, and The Sea Ranch.
Eden Box recently contributed a wonderful masterpiece, Hotel de Las Bellas Mexicanas, of the maestro Pedro Friedeberg of Mexico City. This sculptural fantasy construction was a favorite of the late Hal Box, the University of Texas School of Architecture Dean who spearheaded the effort to bring Charles Moore to Austin.
In 2023, we had the pleasure of welcoming Pedro Friedeberg to see once again the piece at the Charles Moore Foundation. Señor Friedeberg has kindly offered to restore some missing pieces.
If you would like to contribute pieces of Folk Art, please email Kevin Keim.