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Welcome to
the VSA's email newsletter. |
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March/April 2008 |
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News of
Note |
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With an exhibition at 6-29 May, 2008 We wish our British brethren hearty
anniversary wishes as they celebrate the founding of the original “Vic Soc”
on 25 February, 1958, eight years before the founding of this Society in
America. You may visit their UK website to find out the many efforts that
they have undertaken over the years toward historic preservation throughout
Britain, by clicking on this link: www.victoriansociety.org.uk or on the
image of their elaborately festooned cake, below.
Happy Anniversary! |
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At the Lexington KY Public Library 140 E. Main St. (859) 231-5559 Saturday
April 12 through Sunday May 18 Clay
Lancaster’s Warwick Foundation, in cooperation with the Central Gallery, will
present an exhibition of photographs featuring Central Kentucky architecture
from the Civil War to the turn of the 20th Century. Based in part
on Mr. Lancaster’s Vestiges of the Venerable City (1978), the
exhibition will highlight structures in a myriad of styles: Richardsonian
Romanesque, Queen Anne, Italianate, Shingle, Eastlake, and Second Empire, as
well as eclectic and vernacular buildings of the period. Elaborate scroll saw
work, carved marble, intricate masonry, stained and etched glass, corner
turrets, and impressive massing characterize the best work of this Romantic
era in American architecture. Opening the
exhibit will be a lecture by Dr. Patrick Snadon, an architectural historian with the
College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of
Cincinnati, who will speak at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 13, with a reception
following. The cost for this event is $15. Call (859) 231-5559 to purchase
tickets. Dr.
Snadon is co-author of The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry
Latrobe.
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University of St. Thomas (MN) Friday, April 4, 2008, 1:00-8:30 p.m. O’Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, St.
Paul Campus You are cordially invited to attend a symposium and exhibition at
the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. This free
interdisciplinary event, co-sponsored by the UST Art History and English
departments, will focus on the topic “The Victorian Home.” The program will
include high-interest papers on a variety of topics related to
nineteenth-century domestic life, including home decor, pastimes, clothing,
consumerism, marriage, and reading practices. Key
note Speakers will include Richard
Guy Wilson, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the
University of Virginia, and Kris Deffenbacher, Associate Professor of
English at Hamline University. The symposium will also feature presentations
by UST students and scholars drawn from local and regional academic
institutions, including Augsburg College, the University of Wisconsin, and
the University of Iowa. A
special exhibition, Through the Magic Lantern: The Victorian Home,
will accompany the symposium (OEC Gallery, April 4 – May 17). Exhibits will explore the
rich visual and literary culture of the period, featuring both works of print
and period objects ranging from humble kitchen tools to clothing and
adornment. For
advance registration or further information (including a program schedule),
please contact Sue Focke, sefocke@stthomas.edu, 651-962-5560. On-site registration will be
available on the day of the symposium in the OEC lobby. |
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Facing The Late Victorians: Portraits of Writers and Artists from The Mark Samuels Lasner Collection ________
¨________ Exhibition: The Grolier Club, New York
City Curated by Margaret D. Stetz 21st February ~ 26th April 2008
Portraits Galore of Famous & Lesser-known Victorian
Writers & Artists: Sketches, Caricatures, Photographs, Drawings, Prints, Posters
& Other Illustrations _____ ¨_____ Reviewed for
The Victorian Society in America By
Maureen E. Mulvihill Princeton
Research Forum (Princeton, NJ) ¨ |
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The Great Estates Consortium Presents Stewards and
Visionaries: Women of the Great Estates
Saturday March 29, 2008 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Henry Wallace Visitor and Education Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and the Home of the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Route 9, Hyde Park, New York Registration Fee: $55 per person Includes Lunch and Wine and Cheese Reception Stewards and Visionaries:
Women of the Great Estates symposium will
focus on the importance of women to Hudson Valley estates from the 18th
to the 20th Centuries. It will also examine the role that women
had in saving and preserving many of these important historic properties.
Symposium attendees can begin the day with an optional tour of Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s home, Springwood, and the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. For a link to a PDF of the symposium
brochure, schedule and registration form, click here.
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MEMBER NEWS |
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~ HONORING MARGOT GAYLE ~ Wednesday,
May 14, 2008 Margot
Gayle, who was one of the founders of the Victorian
Society in America in 1966, will be celebrating her 100th birthday
in May of this year. Many of you already know that it was around her
kitchen table that the first meeting was held, resulting in the establishment
of the Society. To
honor Ms. Gayle for her many years work as one of New York City’s eminent
preservationists, the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society
in America will be hosting a party on her birthday, May 14, at the Century
Association in New York City. If
you live in the tri-state area around New York City (New York, New Jersey or
Connecticut), watch your mail over the next few weeks for an invitation to
join in the festive occasion! |
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Anna Tobin D’Ambrosio has been
appointed to the position of Assistant Director at the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art in Utica, NY. She will continue
her duties as the Curator of Decorative Arts, a position she has held since
1989. Ms. D’Ambrosio holds a master’s degree from the Cooperstown Graduate
Program and has furthered her studies through the Attingham Program,
Victorian Society Summer School, and a Winterthur research fellowship. She has lectured extensively and
has curated numerous exhibitions. Her most recent, “A Brass Menagerie:
Metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement,” was called “One of the small, must-see
exhibitions this season,” in an August 2007 review in The New York Times. The
exhibition opened at MWPAI in Utica in the fall of 2005 and traveled to the
Bard Graduate Center in New York City last summer. Ms. D’Ambrosio’s periodical
publications include articles for The Magazine Antiques, the VSA’s own
Nineteenth Century, and book reviews in American Furniture. Her
1999 book, Masterpieces of American Furniture from the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute won the 1999 Ruth Emory Award for its
contribution to furniture scholarship. She is currently working on the
traveling exhibition Brilliant! American Jewelry Since 1900, opening
in October 2010. |
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Great
Houses of Chicago, 1871-1921 Wednesday, April 23,
2008, 7 p.m. Glessner House Museum
Coach House 1800 S. Prairie Avenue
(Enter on 18th Street) $15 per person/$10 for
Museum members RSVP by April 18 to
312-326-1480
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The Historic New Orleans Collection Floating to New Orleans: Facing the Hazards of the Mississippi by Sally K. Reeves Sally K. Reeves, historian, archivist, and president of the
Louisiana Historical Society presents the second in a three-part lecture
series exploring the Mississippi River. This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are
recommended and may be made by e-mailing wrc@hnoc.org or by calling
(504) 523-4662. |
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CHAPTER NOTES |
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A CBC-TV production, "Gardening
Confidential" takes us on an international exploration of
one of the most obsessive hobbies in human history, and discovers some
surprising modern twists. From robotic lawnmowers to gardens on Mars,
from trendy Manhattan rooftops to virtual gardens in cyberspace, this ancient
craft has entered the space age and become a multi-billion dollar
industry. Meet some of the most single-minded gardeners in the world
and discover how gardening can get you in trouble with the law. Included
is a clip featuring a Victorian Garden Party put on by the Falls Church
Chapter, replete with period fashions and automobiles. For those of you that
might get the CBC out of Canada, you can watch the episode of "Gardening
Confidential" when it airs, Thursday March 27 2008, 8 pm on CBC-TV. Watch clips of the
program on CBC's YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/CBCtv
. Take a gardening quiz
and watch the show online starting on March 27 at http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/confidential/
. +++++++++ Arbor Day in Falls Church, Saturday April 19 The Falls Church Chapter will once again present
a realistic re-enactment of this historic Victorian event, which was first
celebrated in the State of Virginia in 1892 at the little village of Falls
Church! The celebration is held every year in Frady Park, where Virginia’s
first Arbor Day celebration was held. All are welcome but those participating
in the re-enactment must be in 1890’s attire. Midge Wang is organizing a
committee to help with the planning; please call her at 703-534-8394 to
volunteer or for more information. Also needed are volunteer bakers to help
provide simple refreshments to those attending. The event will be held rain
or shine at 2 p.m. |
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Spring Lecture Tuesday, April 8, 6 PM Transmitting Beauties of Nature to Elements of Decoration: The Glass Gardens of Louis C. Tiffany Lindsy
R. Parrott, manager and curator of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass Louis C. Tiffany
devoted significant amounts of time and money to developing new glass
formulas and innovative fabrication techniques that enabled him to translate
the beauty and subtleties of the natural world into glass. This lecture will explore some
sources of Tiffany’s inspiration and focus on the materials and methods used
to masterfully replicate naturalistic effects of color, texture and pattern
in his famous leaded-glass windows and lampshades. The Donnell Library
Auditorium Admission is FREE;
no reservations required! Spring Tours
Saturday, April 12,
10:30 AM Bushwick: Old and New This walking tour of
Brooklyn neighborhood led by Joseph Svehlak, a professional tour guide and
member of the Metro Chapter, will reveal Bushwick’s architectural history
from the days of the German settlement in the second half of the 19th
century to the present. Arion Hall,
the Ulmer Brewery, a Carnegie library and mansions of the beer barons are
among the Victorian buildings on our route.
We will enter St. Barbara’s Roman Catholic Church, ca. 1910, one of
Brooklyn’s finest churches and see two World War I memorials by Pietro
Montana. Also on view will be the new
Rheingold Gardens residences, indicative of Bushwick rising like a Phoenix
from the ashes of the fires and abandonment following the 1977 blackout. Fees: $25/members of
Metropolitan Chapter; $35/non-members This walking tour is
limited to 30 participants. Reservations
must be received by April 4.
Friday, April 18, 7:30
AM Pennsylvania’s Pinnacle of Power: The Restored State Capitol This all-day bus tour
will take participants to Harrisburg for a tour of the recently restored
Pennsylvania State Capitol and other nearby historic government buildings on
the hill. Described by Teddy
Roosevelt as the “handsomest building I ever saw,” the state Capitol was
architecturally inspired by St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and is considered by
many to be the pinnacle of state capitol buildings in the United States. This brilliantly restored rotunda and
legislative chambers are particularly exquisite spaces with murals by Violet
Oakley and Edwin Austen Abbey and magnificent tile floors by Henry Mercer. Because this tour is offered on a weekday,
access will be provided to rooms not open to the general public. Lunch included. This tour requires a minimum
of 30 participants. Fees: $110/member of
the Metropolitan Chapter; $125/non-members Reservations
must be received by April 11.
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From the
Philadelphia Chapter Slide
Lecture and Book Signing Sunday,
April 13, 2008 1 – 4 p.m. Forgotten Philadelphia:
Tom Keels, a Philadelphia chapter (and national) member and
author of a number of books, will conduct a slide lecture and book signing on
his new book, Forgotten Philadelphia: Lost Architecture of the Quaker City. The event will be held at the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion located
on Tulpehocken Street in the Germantown section of the city. The Maxwell
Mansion is a gorgeous Victorian-era house built in 1859 by cloth merchant
Ebenezer Maxwell. During the visit, attendees will be able to view the newly
redecorated parlor and dining room. The event will conclude with an
assortment of finger sandwiches and pastries. Contact Bob Skaler for more information on the event at 215-635-0356,
or forensicarch@comcast.net
. There will likely be a nominal fee to attend. |
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From the Greater
Chicago Chapter Mayhem and Monsters
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