6 Objects That Capture Everything Brilliant and Strange About the Shakers

Fascination with the history and legacy of the Shakers, the religious community that was founded in mid-18th-century England and brought to the American colonies in 1774—continues to deepen and flourish in the U.S. and abroad, even as the number of active members has dwindled to just three.

Along with the recent Hollywood treatment given to the life of founder Ann Lee in the film starring Amanda Seyfried, Shaker culture is getting another deep dive in a somewhat surprising contemporary venue, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia’s new show “A World in the Making: The Shakers.”

Under the official name, the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing,” the Shakers embraced the concept of radical simplicity in everyday life, as well as mandatory celibacy, pacifism, and gender equality.

During a press walkthrough of the show, ICA Philadelphia chief curator Hallie Ringle noted the Shaker’s “unwavering commitment to order and purpose. There are so many contemporary artists looking at Shaker culture,” she added.

That was a big part of why the institution said yes to a collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and the Milwaukee Art Museum along with further support from the Shaker Museum in New York. “We hope to bring their legacy in conversation with our present moment,” said Ringle.

The ICA show places seven interdisciplinary contemporary artists, who each explore themes of faith and collective life, alongside more than 100 Shaker objects including furniture, tools, textiles, and everyday goods. We also spoke with Jerry Grant, director of library and collections at the Shaker Museum, which provided and help select the bulk of the original items in the show. Grant discussed some of the important historic items in detail, revealing key insights about the Shaker culture.

1. The Shaker Manifesto, vol. X, no. 5, (May 1880)

By 1870, more than a century after their founding, “the Shakers thought they needed other ways to get new members,” said Grant. “One of those was to publish a monthly journal. It started off as more of a small newspaper form and after about 1879, it changed over to the .” Publication continued until 1899. The Manifesto was “basically a proselytizing journal, but it also kept Shakers up on what was going on in all the various communities.” It contained a mix of notes, updates, and articles on everything from recipes, to faith and theology.

2. Staircase from the North Family dwelling house at Mount Lebanon, New York (1846)

This staircase, which was originally part of a house in the Shaker community in Mount Lebanon, New York, reflects both the strict emphasis on celibacy, and the resulting dwindling population. It came from a hallway used by Shaker women, given that sections of the homes were separated by gender. Shakers embraced celibacy since they believed that strict abstinence was required to achieve a pure, holy life.

That particular staircase ran from the fourth floor to the attic area where the Shakers stored their off-season clothing and extra bedding and supplies notes Grant. “I think it was probably the only free-standing staircase that was not attached to a wall in that building,” said Grant. The building itself was taken down in 1973 when the unoccupied structure had a leaking roof and was thought to be a fire hazard. At an auction during which elements of the building were sold off, the Shaker Museum acquired the staircase.

3. Brother Eli Kidder Sewing desk, (1861) on the far left

Kidder was a cabinet maker at the Canterbury Shaker community in New Hampshire. Around the time of the Civil War, “there was a shift in Shaker economics, and women really started having to bear the brunt of providing material that the Shakers could sell,” said Grant. Further, the population was shifting heavily to about 80 percent women, and 20 percent men, so the “prototypical handiwork,” included a lot of sewing and creating items to be sold at community stores. Further, these desk were made “so that you could sit in front of it,” and take advantage of a pullout to create a bigger work surface. The strategically placed drawers around the sides meant seamstresses “didn’t have to move out of the way to get to the materials.”

A fun bonus fact: Kidder made two these desks at the same time, Grant said. “One is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the other one is in our collection at the Shaker Museum. So those two are as close as they’ve ever been since they were freed from the Canterbury community.”

4. Shaker community, Mount Lebanon, NY Garden seed boxes, (c. 1860–1880)

“Absolutely one of the most lucrative things the Shakers could do with their work, was growing and selling garden seeds,” said Grant. “Shakers often loved products where there was a minimal amount of material and a maximum amount of labor.”

Given their large, disciplined, and well-trained work force, it was ideal for planting a garden, then nurturing and weeding, and then in the harvest. From Mount Lebanon, they would sell and distribute the seeds on a Western route all the way to Buffalo including at agricultural depots and general stores. “We think that the Shakers were the first people to package seeds. It was very profitable,“ said Grant.

5. Shaker community, Mount Lebanon, NY; Canterbury, NH; and Enfield, NH. Various medicine bottles, (c. 1875–1920) 

The Shakers really came on the scene and developed their communities to the fullest in the 1820s up through the Civil War, said Grant. “It was sort of the heyday, in terms of membership. As a response to cholera and other epidemics, many herbalists and botanic physicians developed alternative medicines. Grant said many of the Shakers were followers of a well-known New England medical botanist named Samuel Thompson.

“Again it was a product with a lot of labor and very little expenditure. They could gather herbs or grow herbs and  barks and things and process them, package them up and sell them,” whether to individuals or pharmacies.

Were they effective? “I think the thing is that it didn’t kill people,” said Grant.

Strategically placed above the medicine bottle vitrines are contemporary artist Finnegan Shannon’s eye catching bright blue banners, a five-panel installation titled  , (2025). The banners feature a bevy of ambitious health claims one might see in pain relief product ads, ranging from mundane like  “reduces pain,” to the strange, such as “recycles the downward force as propulsive energy,” The artist is “deeply influenced by the medical practice of the Shakers as well as access and inclusivity for people with disabilities,” Ringle told me.

6. Amie Cunat (2025)

Contemporary art is also on view in the show, and it illuminates the past through a modern list. As the title of this work suggests, this is the second such creation by the New York-based artist. It’s modeled after the Shaker space at Sabbathday Lake in Maine, which is the only active Shaker settlement remaining today. It’s clad in deep-blue cardboard with wooden benches inside (yes you can sit on them). However “it’s not an exact replica,” notes Ringle. “The stove and some other fixtures have been moved outside.” The artist “is really interested in how people are coming together and creating community. She wanted to shift this logic of complete retreat and insularity. . . bridging the gap between inside and outside.”