Wendell Castle, rightfully known as the father of the art furniture movement, first worked in stacked laminated hardwoods. Following this, Castle switched media to fiberglass, and later to fine furniture as well as a series of impeccably executed trompe l’oeil work, including works such as Chair with Sport Coat (1978) and Ghost Clock (1985). After a period of abstract painting, Castle has returned to the medium of laminated wood. Among his many honors, Castle was recognized as a Visionary of the American Crafts Movement by the American Craft Museum (1994). He was lauded as ‘Master of the Medium’ by the James Renwick Alliance of the National Museum of American Art (1999), and was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Design by the Brooklyn Museum of Art/ Modernism (2007). Most recently, he received the first Visionary Award by the 2014 Smithsonian Craft Festival.