One of the best things about visiting new places is getting to know new talented and fun people.  That’s how I felt about getting to know painter, sculptor and furniture maker Wharton Esherick (1887–1970) on my trip to Valley Forge.

Esherick was among the vanguard of artists who created an American sculpture style and is recognized as the most important furniture designer of the 20th century. Esherick worked primarily in wood and extended his sculptural forms to furniture, furnishings and interiors, which are now in major American museums and private collections.

“If you want to know me, look at my work,” he always said. He proved that a lamp, bowl or chair could be fine art and that even functional furniture, like desks and chairs, could be fun.

Even though Esherick died more than 30 years ago, his work lives on in his studio and museum in Paoli, Pa., near Valley Forge National Historical Park. His memory is kept alive by his daughter Ruth and her husband and museum curator Mansfield Bascom. The museum and studio, which he designed and is considered a work of art itself, is preserved much as it was when Esherick was alive. In fact, with his furniture, sculptures, woodcuts and utensils carefully arranged, it looks as if the artist just stepped out to get more wood.

This must-see tour of his studio, which Esherick built for over 40 years, is like nothing you’ve ever experienced.  It begins when you step out of your car on the outside of his studio, nestled in the trees and hills atop Valley Forge Mountain, with barn-like stone walls that taper and curve out at the base like a tree trunk, a multicolored tower and a projecting deck. Each part reflects his changing design philosophy that moved from free-form and organic architecture, in which buildings seem to grow from their sites, to arts and crafts and expressionism styles.

When you scan the oddly shaped log garage, which Esherick built in 1927 for a workshop, you begin to see the outward leaning walls and its twisted roof, one of the few remaining pieces of expressionism architecture in America today. It now serves as a receptionist area for visitors who come from all over the world to see his work.

As you step inside the primitive-looking studio, you begin to get to know Esherick, his joy, freedom and humor as you look around and see more than 200 of his works — furniture and interior furnishings, desks, chairs, lamps, sculptures, doorknockers, woodcuts and paintings exhibited in the studio.

Everywhere you look, you will see ordinary furnishings like coat pegs, salad utensils and lamps with an extraordinary twist from the imaginative artist’s mind who liked constant change. In line with his motto, “If it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth doing,” Esherick’s furniture is functional but whimsical. He even made a notable 1931 chair out of wagon wheel handles, harness leather and a shaft that a horse trots between to pull the wagon. 

You must see the entire collection in person to appreciate it, but here are a few highlights:

A cantilevered  oak staircase constructed in 1930. An organic work, the spiral stairs go from his workshop to his bedroom loft. The staircase twists as it rises, like a tree trunk, and has a mastodon tusk for a railing.

A red oak desk, an arts and crafts piece that housed his prints on slide-out trays. On it are sculpted different trees, bare winter branches and turkey buzzards soaring above. It is so organic that it has no metal hardware; instead each dovetail is handcrafted. 

The Wharton Esherick Museum is located in southeastern Pennsylvania 20 miles west of downtown Philadelphia. It is open to visitors by reservation only Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed January, February and major holidays. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

For information, directions and reservations, call 610-644-5822 or visit http://www.levins.com/esherick.html. You can also visit www.valleyforge.org for information.