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Exhibit: “Form and Function: The Beauty of Shaker Design” | Glens Falls, NY | August 22, 2026 - January 10, 2027


  • The Hyde Collection 161 Warren Street Glens Falls, New York, 12801 United States (map)

Form and Function: The Beauty of Shaker Design at The Hyde Collection

Table, chairs, and other typical Shaker-style furniture.

Shaker furniture.

There is something remarkably modern about an aesthetic created more than two centuries ago.

Form and Function: The Beauty of Shaker Design, opening August 22 at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, brings an important exhibition of Shaker furniture and objects to the southern Adirondacks and explores how a religious community’s devotion to simplicity, utility, and craftsmanship produced one of America’s most enduring design traditions.

The timing is especially fitting. The Shakers established their first American settlement in upstate New York 250 years ago, beginning a cultural legacy whose influence now extends far beyond the communities where it originated. At The Hyde, visitors can see that legacy through objects made not simply to be admired, but to be used.

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Shaker design comes to The Hyde Collection.

Shaker design is instantly recognizable even when its maker is not: clean lines, balanced proportions, thoughtful construction, and an almost complete absence of ornament for ornament’s sake.

For the Shakers, however, simplicity was not a design trend. Their approach grew from religious beliefs that valued order, humility, communal life, and purposeful work. Furniture, tools, boxes, and household objects needed to perform their jobs well—and there was beauty in doing exactly that.

Form and Function draws from two private collections and includes numerous objects never before exhibited in a museum setting. That alone makes the show noteworthy for design enthusiasts, but its organization gives visitors a particularly accessible way into Shaker life.

Shakers at work: beauty with a job to do.

The first half of the exhibition, Shakers at Work, examines the trades practiced within Shaker communities and the practical tools created to support them.

Rather than embellishing everyday objects, Shaker craftspeople concentrated on usefulness, proportion, durability, and efficient construction. The result is a kind of quiet elegance: objects stripped of anything that did not contribute to their purpose.

For visitors accustomed to thinking about museum objects primarily as art, this section offers an intriguing reversal. These pieces were working things first. Their beauty followed from how intelligently they were made.

Shaker furniture workroom with typical shaker tools and implements.

A restored Shaker workshop.

Shakers at rest: everyday objects become enduring design.

The exhibition's second half, Shakers at Rest, moves into the rhythms of domestic life with chairs, tables, storage boxes, and other objects used within Shaker communities.

Here, the exhibition may feel surprisingly contemporary. Shaker furniture's restrained forms and emphasis on craftsmanship anticipate ideas that would become central to modern design generations later. There is no visual clutter competing for attention—just material, proportion, line, and function working together.

ADK Taste insight.

The Adirondacks make an especially interesting setting for this exhibition. The Shaker story is deeply rooted in upstate New York, where the first American community was established near Albany in 1776. Seeing these objects in Glens Falls places visitors within the broader regional landscape in which Shaker culture first took hold.

For travelers interested in art, architecture, American history, craftsmanship, or interior design, Form and Function also offers a thoughtful cultural stop between Lake George and the Capital Region.

Listen: Inside The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls.

What makes The Hyde Collection one of the Adirondacks’ most distinctive cultural destinations? In this episode of the ADK Talks podcast, go inside the Glens Falls art museum to explore its remarkable collection, historic Hyde House, and the story behind this world-class museum in the southern Adirondacks.

ADK Talks: “World-class art in the Adirondacks: Inside The Hyde Collection” — an inside look at the art, history, and legacy of The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York.

The conversation offers additional context for visitors planning to see Form and Function: The Beauty of Shaker Design at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, a cultural anchor at the southern gateway to the Adirondacks.

ADK Taste recommendation.

Don't rush through the exhibition looking only for the most visually striking furniture. Spend time with the smaller tools and household objects, where the Shaker belief that ordinary things deserved thoughtful design becomes especially apparent.

The exhibition is presented in the Hoopes Gallery and Whitney-Renz Gallery from August 22, 2026 through January 10, 2027. Visitors should check The Hyde Collection's official website before traveling for current museum hours, admission information, programs, and possible holiday schedule changes.

Frequently asked questions.

What is Form and Function: The Beauty of Shaker Design?‍ ‍

It is an exhibition exploring Shaker furniture, tools, household objects, craftsmanship, and design, with works drawn from two private collections.

Where is the Shaker design exhibition?‍ ‍

The exhibition is at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York, in the southern Adirondacks.

When does the exhibition open?‍ ‍

Form and Function is on view from August 22, 2026, through January 10, 2027.

What will visitors see?‍ ‍

The exhibition includes Shaker furniture, tools, storage boxes, tables, chairs, and other practical objects, including pieces never previously displayed in a museum setting.

Who would enjoy this exhibition?‍ ‍

It should particularly appeal to visitors interested in American history, furniture, architecture, craftsmanship, decorative arts, minimalism, and modern design.

What else should visitors know before going?‍ ‍

Check The Hyde Collection's official website for current hours, admission, gallery information, and exhibition-related programming.

For Adirondack exhibitions worth planning around—and the food, places, and stories that make a trip more interesting—subscribe to In Good Taste, ADK Taste's weekly guide to what's happening across the Adirondacks.

Wooden bench made by the Shakers in upstate, NY.

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