This paper highlights the usefulness of objective technical information obtained by conservators in expanding the understanding of American folk art objects, particularly painted furniture. This topic is presented through the research on the materials and methods used by Johannes Spitler, an German-American furniture decorator active in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. A tall case clock and a recently acquired blanket chest both painted by Spitler were examined and treated in the furniture conservation laboratory of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. These objects are presently on display in the new exhibition areas at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center in Williamsburg.