The Museum of Contemporary Crafts opened in New York City in 1956 with a permanent collection of works by contemporary artists. The museum chose well. The collection includes ceramics by Edwin and Mary Scheier and Harvey Littleton (later a major glass artist), furniture by Wendell Castle and enamels by Karl Drerup and June SchwarczÑall major figures today. Some of the artists represented were old friends or acquaintances we met through collecting: pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, jeweler John Paul Miller, enamellist John Puskas and glass artist Dale Chihuly.

The museum was renamed the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in 2002 and recently moved to Columbus Circle. The big opening was in the fall, and my daughter, Kim, her husband and I were invited. The museumÕs new home is a 1964 building by architect Edward Durrell Stone that was given a new faade and interior galleries. We walked through the well-lit galleries where pieces from the original collection as well as works by contemporary designers were on display.

We see art through the eyes of Òcollectors of the past,Ó so our perspective is different from that of most of the Òmodern art guestsÓ at the show. Which of the contemporary art of today will be the prizes in collections of the 2050s? Some new pieces in a recycling exhibit called Second Life were interesting: a stack of 78-rpm records near a wall covered with cutout butterflies made of more records, a pyramid of thousands of spoons and rubber bands, a portrait of a textile worker made of clothing labels, and a sofa-like structure of high-heeled shoes.

The jewelry collection at the museum is astounding: a room of cases filled with pieces from the 1930s on. A lot of the 21st-century jewelry is made of unusual materials like paper, leather, steel or broken bits of ceramics or metalware. These might be important collectibles in 50 years, but I prefer things I recognize as jewelry, like pieces by Margaret de Patta, Sam Kramer, Art Smith, Betty Cooke or John Paul Miller.

If you visit New York and collect Õ50s art and design, donÕt miss this museum. But be sure you also get to the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. Their 20th-century collections of decorative arts are filled with pieces you might find at a local estate saleÑif youÕre lucky.

Photos are of items in the museumÕs permanent collection. The museumÕs Collections Handbook is available on the museumÕs website, MADMuseum.org.

Men toilet lock
Margaret de Patta pin, 1947-50, sterling silver, coral and malachite, patinated, 2 1/4 by 3 3/8 by 3/8 in. (Museum of Arts and Design, gift of Eugene Bielawski, The Margaret De Patta Bequest, through the American Craft Council, 1976.		 Miniature locks
John Puskas ÒTheatrical FacesÓ enamel, 1958, on copper, 16 3/4 by 15 by 2 1/2 in. (Museum of Arts and Design, gift of Allen Kenyon in memory of Magda Kenyon by her sons, Allen, Barry and Dorry, through the American Craft Council, 1958.