Consummate Craftsmanship

In what has so far been a rather lackluster art season, two February openings—The Flowering of American Folk Art at the Whitney Museum and the long-awaited Masterpieces of Tapestry at the Metropolitan—are not-to-be-

missed causes for rejoicing. In contrasting ways, each is giving Watergate-weary, gas-short New Yorkers a badly needed spiritual lift.