January 2010 Exhibitions & Programs at N-Y Historical Society
NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
170 Central Park West, New York, N.Y. 212-873-3400 www.nyhistory.org
EXHIBITION AND PROGRAM LISTINGS
January 2010
through March 25, 2010
During the 1932 Presidential primary, FDR gathered around him a core group of political, economic, and legal scholars, many from Columbia University. This "Brain Trust" became the central component of the New Deal. The exhibition focuses on the three key members of the Brain Trust, Raymond Moley, Rexford Tugwell, and Adolph Berle, and two of the cabinet members with whom they worked to bring about FDR's radical changes, Frances Perkins and Harry Hopkins.
John Brown: The Abolitionist And His Legacy
through March 25, 2010
Planned by the Gilder Lehrman Institute in collaboration with N-YHS
October 16, 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of John Brown's doomed raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859. Brown, an ardent abolitionist who believed in racial equality, embraced violence as a means to end slavery. Executed in 1859, he has been both vilified as a murderer and celebrated as a martyr. This exhibition of rare materials from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and N-YHS explores Brown's beliefs and activities at a critical juncture in American history and invites us to ponder the struggle for civil rights down to the present.
Lincoln and New York
through March 25, 2010
From the launch of Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 campaign with a speech at Cooper Union through the unprecedented outpouring of grief at his funeral procession in 1865, New York City played a surprisingly central role in the career of the sixteenth President—and Lincoln, in turn, had an impact on New York that was vast, and remains vastly underappreciated. Now, for the first time, a museum exhibition traces the crucial relationship between America’s greatest President and its greatest city. The culminating presentation in the Historical Society’s Lincoln Year of exhibitions, events, and public programs, this extraordinary display of original artifacts, iconic images, and highly significant period documents is the Historical Society’s major contribution to the nation’s Lincoln Bicentennial.
Dutch New York Between East and West: The World of Margrieta van Varick
through January 3, 2010
Presented at the Bard Graduate Center, 18 West 86th Street
Dutch New York explores the life, times, and possessions of a fascinating woman and her family. Born in the Netherlands, Margrieta van Varick (1649-1695) spent the better part of her life at the extremes of the Dutch colonial works: in Malacca (now Malaysia) and Flatbush (now Brooklyn). Arriving in Flatbush with her minister husband, Rudolphus, in 1686, she set up a textile shop, having brought with her an astonishing array of Eastern and European goods. We know about the wealth of objects thanks to an inventory taken in 1696 documenting her personal and commercial belongings. The groundbreaking research for this exhibition, drawing on the rich and deep collections of the Society and with selected loans from other museums in the U.S. and abroad, and its accompanying catalogue makes an original contribution to the histories of New York City, Dutch colonial and commercial networks, lives of women in the Dutch overseas colonies, and material culture of New York under Dutch and English rule. The exhibition has been curated by Marybeth De Filippis, Assistant Curator of American Art at the N-YHS and a BGC graduate; Deborah L. Krohn, Associate Professor and Coordinator for History and Theory of Museums at the BGC; and Peter N. Miller, Dean and Chair of Academic Programs at the BGC.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL GALLERY TOUR
Kimberly Orcutt
In this intimate gallery tour, experience the extraordinary depth and richness of the New-York Historical Society's landscape paintings by artists of the Hudson River School, who forged the first self-consciously "American" artistic vision. Gallery Tours are limited to 35 guests per tour.
DARING YOUNG MEN: THE HEROISM AND TRIUMPH OF THE BERLIN AIRLIFT
Richard Reeves, Lesley Stahl
By June 1948, the two million people in the city of Berlin had been starving since the end of World War II, with Soviet occupation officials cutting off the supply of food and fuel to the city. What followed was one of the largest and most complex humanitarian efforts in history: the Berlin Airlift.
AN EVENING WITH SIMON SCHAMA
Simon Schama is University Professor of Art History and History at Columbia University. He has written 14 books and has won many awards,including the Wolfson Award for History, the National Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Literature, and the National Book Critics' Circle Award for Nonfiction. His essays for The New Yorker earned him a National Magazine Award and he has written and presented more than 30 documentaries on art and history for the BBC.
LINCOLN & EMANCIPATION: AN ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM
An all-day conference offering fresh analysis from leading historians to mark the 147th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation—the most important act of Abraham Lincoln's presidency. Each session includes an audience Q &A.
LONGSHOTS AND UNDERDOGS: GREAT MOMENTS IN NEW YORK SPORTS
Bob Herbert, Adam Gopnik, Bert Sugar
A jam session about those who beat the odds and shocked the world of sports. Three experts turn back the clock, stopping to visit the long-suffering Brooklyn Dodgers and their triumph over the Yankees in 1955, the Miracle Mets of 1969, the Cinderella Jets and their famous upset at Super Bowl III, and the New York Rangers, who ended more than 50 years of Stanley Cup futility in 1994. With boxing and horse racing added to the mix!
Saturday, January 9, 2 pm
Test your wits and see how much you know about history at the New York History Mysteries Scavenger Hunt. Participants will form teams, compete for a special prize and search for answers to tricky and humorous questions about Abraham Lincoln, Hudson River School painters, John Brown, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American watercolors and drawings, and other forces that shaped the city.
To purchase tickets go to www.watsonadventures.com
MURDER AT THE HISTORICAL
Sunday, January 17, 11:30 am
Can you solve a mystery? Carlo D’Amore and Live In Theater Productions (www.LiveInTheater.com) with the New-York Historical Society are hosting an interactive, theatrical experience where participants solve a notorious crime. A two-hour journey through the New-York Historical Society, participants search for clues in order to solve a “murder” loosely based on a real New York City crime.
What was life like during the Civil War? Visitors to the New-York Historical Society can find out as reenactors show what life was like for soldiers and civilians alike. The New-York Historical Society’s Living History Days series will take place on Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM, in conjunction with the Society’s exhibit Lincoln and New York. The program is free with museum admission.
Civil War reenactors will display original weaponry and show visitors what life was like both on the battlefield and on the sidelines of the war on:
January 2: 3rd U.S. Colored Infantry
January 9: 1st Infantry Battalion, Confederate Regular States Army
January 16: 6th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops
January 23: 61st New York Regiment, Abraham Lincoln
January 30: 119th New York Infantry
The following performances are free with museum admission.
Performances by musicians from the Mannes College of Music
January 8 , 6:30 pm: Beethoven Piano Sonata "Moonlight", op. 27 no. 2 Schumann "Kreisleriana" op. 16, Chopin Nocturne No. 2 op. 48
January 15 , 6:30 pm: Stravinsky Rake's Progress, Verdi Un ballo in maschera
January 22 , 6:30pm: Schumann for clarinet and piano op. 73, Beethoven Sonata for violin and piano No. 5 "Spring" Op. 24
January 29 , 6:30 pm: Chopin Scherzo No.2 op. 31 and Ballade No. 1 op. 23, Schumann Lieder and op. 88
INFORMATION HOTLINE:
To reach the Museum's offices, call: 212.873.3400.
ONLINE INFORMATION:
http://www.nyhistory.org
MUSEUM HOURS:
Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am to 5:45 pm
Friday until 8:00 pm
Adults $12.00
Senior Citizens & Educators $9.00
Students $7.00
Children under 12 FREE
Museum Members FREE
Fridays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Pay as you wish
