Little Journey 2026 Opens February 4

The Roycrofters-at-Large (RALA) and The Roycroft Inn are pleased to announce that noted Western New York art collector Dr. Gerald Mead will open the 2026 Roycroft Little Journey Speaker Series with a presentation of Roycroft and their contemporaries, drawn from artworks from his collection by past and recent Roycroft artists on Wednesday, February 4. 

Over the course of 40 years, Gerald has assembled a personal collection of over 2,000 artworks by artists associated with WNY and shared works from that collection through over 70 thematic exhibitions at college galleries and other venues.

He’s lent artworks for exhibitions at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Arnot Art Museum, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Castellani Art Museum, CEPA Gallery, and the University of London and is now working on making planned gifts of artworks from his collection to numerous institutions. 

Dr. Mead is a member of the Roycrofters at Large 50th Anniversary and Archive committee, working to celebrate the founding of the Roycroft Renaissance movement in 1976, and his presentation is a formal opening of the programming here in WNY. A coordinating opening on the national level will take place later this month at the National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, N.C., at storied Grove Park Inn.

A true drawing of the the past to the present in honor of the RALA50 celebration, this presentation will include works by painters Alexis Fournier, Eleanor Douglas, Sandor Landeau and Tom Kegler; printmakers Samuel Warner, Kathleen West, Dorothy Markert and Tom Bojanowski; paper artist Suzanne Mair and photographer Ernest Rawleigh.

Courtesy of the collection of Gerald Mead

A feast for the eyes and the mind, Mead will draw from specific examples on view for the evening's presentation and contextualize the work of established Roycroft artists from the original canon and Renaissance canon with work by their WNY contemporaries of note including Frank Penfold, Raphael Beck, Burr Nichols, Bruce Kurland and Thomas Aquinas Daly; printmakers Norman Kent, Frank Eckmair, and Barbara Rowe; paper artists Kari Achatz and Jozef Bajus; and photographers Clara Sipprell, Edward Sides and Howard Beach, among others. 

Dr. Gerald Mead is an artist, arts writer and independent curator who is a leading authority on Western New York art. He has lectured at Cambridge University and Chautauqua Institution, and recently retired from a 35-year career as a curator at the Burchfield Penney Art Center and lecturer at Buffalo State University. Among the exhibitions he curated was “Roycroft Desktop," originating at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and travelling to six venues across the United States as part of the Roycroft Movement’s 100th anniversary in 1995. 

Dr. Gerald Mead

The Little Journey speaker series is presented in two parts within The Roycroft Inn Complex on South Grove. The evening’s program will begin with a relaxed cocktail hour at 4:45 pm in the Library Bar before attendees to the lecture will move to the Roycroft Chapel for the presentation beginning at 6pm. Those who wish to dine following the lecture will receive 10% off of their dinner at The Roycroft Inn that evening beginning at 7:15 p.m. by mentioning Little Journeys when making a reservation. 

(from left): Thomas Kegler, Samuel Walter, Alexis Fournier; Images courtesy of the Collection of Gerald Mead

As a RALA Little Journeys, this presentation is offered at no cost, but requires advance registration. Tickets are needed for entry to The Chapel. Reserve your space through the link here; active RALA Patrons and Members who cannot attend in person can join via member livestream.

Membership opportunities and tickets for the 2025 Goodie Box Fundraiser will be available at the evening’s event prior to and immediately following the meeting and presentation. This event will mark the final local opportunity to purchase opportunities for the 2025 Goodie Box Fundraiser before the national drawing on February 22 in Asheville, North Caroline, at the National Arts & Crafts Conference. This year’s Goodie Box, RALA’s annual fundraising initiative, is valued at over $8,000 and features a rare and unusual centerpiece: an innovative Roycroft marked ceramic collection reimagining the traditional goodie box proper as a storage vessel and pedestal for elegant tea service components by Master Ceramicist Gerald G Smith III. Clad with a combination of metallic and rustic glazing techniques, Smith’s one of a kind creation expresses an industrial look blended with dramatic Moroccan influence. 

Goodie Box tickets, named after Hubbard's original Goodie Box, are a tradition and form the backbone of RALA's fundraising initiatives. Tickets are available for $5 or 3/$10 from June through February and a "Winner Take All" winner is drawn at the National Arts & Crafts Conference at the Omni Grove Park Inn on the final day of conference.

RALA’s Little Journeys connects Roycroft Artisans with the community by offering artist talks, demonstrations and lectures that educate and create opportunities for collectors and members of the Roycroft community to connect with the modern Roycroft movement, and serves as a homage to Elbert Hubbard’s original Little Journeys; small trips to artists of note that shared intimate glimpses behind their process and lives. This free to attend educational programming was an important part of RALA's presence in the WNY Arts & Crafts community, and was reprised in 2024 thanks to generous sponsorship from The Roycroft Inn, which is ongoing.

For a full schedule of 2026 Little Journey presentations, and for information on the Roycrofters-at-Large events and membership options visit www.ralaweb.com. Follow the Roycrofters-At Large Association’s social media pages at Facebook and Instagram, for updates and information. Share this event and invite your friends through the Facebook event for Wednesday's Little Journey here.