Perched atop churches, barns, businesses, homes and seats of government, weather vanes have over hundreds of years taken the form of everything from farm animals to pets, storybook figures to race cars. They were invented for one important job: telling which way the wind was blowing. Gradually, they became appreciated as an art form. A new exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum in New York, “American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds,” showcases the history, technical virtuosity and artistic beauty of vanes made between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. The free exhibit runs through Jan. 2. “Weathervanes have always been at once tools and sculptural architectural elements, combining function with visual interest and symbolism,” the show’s curator, art historian Robert Shaw, writes in a companion book (RizzoliElecta). The galleries feature around 50 weather vanes and patterns, along with ephemera like bills of sale, advertisements and vintage photographs. pelisplus news