Steve Fenton

Steve Fenton (1946-2010) was a needle pointer and collector of craft. He first learned Bargello and then counted cross stitch from his father. Honing his skills over many years, he only worked with blank canvasses or fabrics for all of his work.

In addition to his crafts collection, working with the late Lee Witkin, Steve and his wife Jacqueline, assembled one of the largest privately-held collections of 20th century photography. Their frequent visits to the American Southwest and Northwest led to a growing collection of Native American jewelry, basketry, and pottery.

For more than 30 years, Steve worked in the advertising and marketing communications industry developing ideas into copy to make a connection with consumers’ hearts and heads. In 2001, Fenton became creative director for the Craft in America project. He was instrumental in developing the program’s treatment, and identifying the themes and content of the series. Fenton also wrote the text for the website and co-authored the companion book entitled Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects. After 10 years of involvement with Craft in America, Steve passed away in August of 2010. His intelligence, humor and generosity of spirit were essential to the success of the Craft in America project. He is missed.