Albany County

Lecture to Focus on Albanys Railroad History

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Although Albany remains a vital railroad junction, New York’s capital city was once a major hub of the railway industry. Can it become one again? On Sunday, October 24, at 2:00 p.m., the Albany Institute of History & Art welcomes Harvard University Professor John Stilgoe, who will give a lecture entitled, Albany’s Railroads: A Once and Future Hub.

Professor Stilgoe recalls the bustling railroad lines that once converged on Albany, examines how curtailment of passenger and freight service has affected our region, and imagines a visionary railway revitalization that transcends the now-dominant interstate highway network. He holds joint appointments to the Harvard faculties of Design and Arts and Sciences. He is the winner of the Francis Parkman, George Hilton, and Bradford Williams medals, the AIA award for collaborative research, and the Charles C. Eldredge prize for art history research.

This lecture is free and open to the public, and is made possible by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities. Admission to the lecture does not include museum admission.

19th Century Divorce, Shakers Subject of Author Talk

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Ilyon Woo, author of The Great Divorce: A Nineteenth-Century Mother’s Extraordinary Fight against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times (2010), a new work of popular history set in the Capital Region, will discuss the book at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 21, 2010, in the Shaker Meeting House, 25 Meeting House Rd, near Albany International Airport. Earlier that same day at 4:15 p.m. the author will present an informal seminar in the Standish Room, Science Library on the UAlbany uptown campus. Sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute and the Shaker Heritage Society, the events are free and open to the public.

Ilyon Woo’s first book is a highly-praised work of popular history set in the Capital Region. Eunice Chapman is compelled to seek custody of her three children after their 1814 abduction by her estranged, alcoholic husband James, who elected to become a member of the Shaker community. James, who had sold the family home in Durham, New York, absconding with the money and leaving his family destitute, first brings the children to live at the Watervliet Shaker Settlement, located near what is now the Albany International Airport, before taking them into hiding at another Shaker site in New Hampshire. Much of the action also takes place at sessions of the New York State Legislature, where Eunice is compelled to use &#8220feminine wiles,&#8221 and a previously untapped talent for public speaking, in order to win lawmakers over to her cause.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Debby Applegate called the book &#8220masterfully written, deeply suspenseful, and filled with fascinating facts and insights,&#8221 and National Book Award winner Nathaniel Philbrick said, &#8220Woo brings the past to life in all its wonderful strangeness, complexity, and verve…. This is what history is all about.&#8221 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner in nonfiction, John Matteson said, &#8220A writer of extraordinary empathy and great resourcefulness, Ilyon Woo has transformed a neglected historical record into a vivid evocation of an era and an amazing tribute to a remarkably tenacious woman, Eunice Chapman. Meticulously researched and compellingly narrated, &#8216-The Great Divorce’ will stand beside the work of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in the pantheon of American women’s history writing.&#8221

A graduate of Yale and Columbia, Ilyon Woo has been interested in the Shakers since girlhood. In 2000 she starred in a short film directed by celebrated African American film pioneer Charles Burnett about the inter-generational divide between a young Korean American woman and her grandmother, set against the backdrop of a Little League baseball game. In recent days, she has been working on dramatic readings of portions of &#8220The Great Divorce,&#8221 which have been staged at Harvard University’s Fruitlands Museum and other venues.

For more information contact the New York State Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or visit www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

Troy Newspaper Transcriptions Now Online

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In 1935, the Philip Schuyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), located in Troy, New York, documented the death and marriage records that were printed in various Troy newspapers during the years 1812 to 1885. This project, which was funded by the Works Progress Administration (renamed during 1939 as the Work Projects Administration- WPA), was the largest New Deal agency employing millions to carry out public works projects.

The Rensselaer County Historical Society in Troy, New York provided the Troy Irish Genealogy Society (TIGS) access to their copies of these extensive records to develop this searchable online database. These records will be of great interest to genealogy researchers since much of the information in this collection predates the 1880 New York State law requiring the reporting of death and marriage records.

Newspaper records transcribed so far include the Troy Post (1812-1823), the Troy Weekly Whig (1834-1839), the Troy Daily Press (1833-1834), and the Troy Sentinel (1823-1832). Volunteers are currently transcribing the Troy Daily Whig covering the years 1834 to 1873. To volunteer on this project send an email to [email protected].

You can view all these records by going to the Troy Irish Genealogy website. Click on PROJECTS and then TROY NEWSPAPER PROJECT. It should be noted that these records, like most of the TIGS data series, cover the general population in the area and are NOT restricted to Irish surnames.

The Black Pirate Showing in Albany

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&#8220The Black Pirate&#8221 (United States, 1926, 94 minutes, color, silent with live piano accompaniment provided by Mike Schiffer) will be shown on Friday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany’s uptown campus. Sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute, the screening is free and open to the public.

Starring the greatest of all swashbucklers, Douglas Fairbanks (who also wrote the script), &#8220The Black Pirate&#8221 is widely hailed as one of the most spectacular action films of the silent era. Directed by Albert Parker, the film also pioneered the art of color with its use of &#8220two-strip Technicolor.&#8221

For additional information contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst.

Richard Dreyfuss to Receive State Archives Award

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Richard Dreyfuss, Academy Award-winning actor and passionate advocate for teaching American history in primary and secondary schools, will be given the 2010 Empire State Archives and History Award on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in The Egg, Empire State Plaza, downtown Albany. As part of the program, Dreyfuss will be interviewed by noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer about his life, work and passion for history. Tickets are $10 and may be obtained from The Egg Box Office at (518) 473-1845 or online at www.theegg.org. The event is sponsored by the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, Greenberg Traurig, the Times Union, the History channel, and the New York State Writers Institute.

Dreyfuss is a leading advocate for the teaching of history in America’s primary and secondary schools. Recently, the Brooklyn-born actor founded a nonprofit organization, The Dreyfuss Initiative, whose mission is to promote Constitutional literacy, historical appreciation and open political dialogue among young people. Regarding the group’s mission, Dreyfuss states, &#8220We are a nation bound by ideas only. We have no common ancestry, no common religion, no common military victory or defeat, no common crime that binds us. If you don’t teach those ideas to every new generation of Americans with wit and rigor, we are not bound.&#8221

A member of the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Dreyfuss served as Senior Associate Member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford, where he researched and developed new curricula for teaching the history and practice of democracy in public schools.

Dreyfuss received the Academy Award for Best Actor in Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl (1977), the youngest actor to be so honored until 2002. Dreyfuss was nominated a second time for Mr. Holland’s Opus in 1995. The actor’s other noteworthy films include The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), his first lead role, American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Tin Men (1987), Krippendorf’s Tribe (1998), and Oliver Stone’s W. (2008). Dreyfuss’s remarkable performance in W. as Vice President Dick Cheney earned him a great deal of critical attention and praise. Dreyfuss received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

Dreyfuss’s many television credits include four episodes of the Showtime series, Weeds in its 2010 season, two episodes voicing himself in the 2009 season of Family Guy, and the title role in the CBS series, The Education of Max Bickford (2001-2002), about a history professor at a women’s college. The latter role earned him a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Actor.

Dreyfuss is also the coauthor of a novel with leading fantasy writer, Harry Turtledove &#8211 The Two Georges (1995), which presents an alternative history of the American Revolution.

In advance of the program, a ticketed reception to honor Dreyfuss will be held at The Egg from 5:30-7:00 p.m. To learn more, contact the Trust at (518) 486-9349, or online at http://www.archives.nysed.gov. Proceeds will benefit the New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust.

33rd Annual New Netherland Seminar

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Many people know that Pieter Stuyvesant surrendered the Dutch colony of New Netherland to the English in 1664. Fewer know that the Dutch regained control of their former possessionalmost as easily as it had been lost nine years earlier. “The Colony Strikes Back: the 1673 Recovery of New Netherland” is the theme of the 33rd Annual New Netherland Seminar, Saturday, Sept. 25, presented by the New Netherland Institute (NNI). Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., in the Carole Huxley Theatre at the Cultural Education Center in Albany.

How could the Restoration of government by New Netherland take place against the world power of England? The seminarwill explain such themes as what was happening in the nations of Europe, the daring exploits of the Dutch fleet, the administration of Governor Anthony Colve and then the changes when New Netherland went back to being New York.

Eminent scholars will give presentations throughout the day. They are drawn from the roster of research fellows of the New Netherland Project, which continues under its expanded identity as the New Netherland Research Center to translate original 17th-century Dutch colonial documents.

Joyce Goodfriend, Ph.D., of the University of Denver, will give an overview of theconditions before and after the Restoration.

DennisMaika, Ph.D., will analyze the economic climate. His focus is on Dutch merchants in English New York City. Donald G. Shomette will describe the Dutch naval campaign of the combined fleets of the Zeeland and Amsterdamsquadrons.

David Voorhees, Ph.D., will talk about the Dutch Administration of
Governor Anthony Colve.

Daniel Richter, Ph.D., will draw connections between the Restoration
of New Netherland and the Restoration of the Stuarts in England.

Len Tantillo, history artist, will use his own paintings and drawing to illustrate images of New York 1660-1720. A framed original pencil portrait of Admiral Cornelis Evertsen of the Zeelander Squadron by Tantillo will be sold in a silent auction at the dinner Saturday evening to benefit the New Netherland Institute. In addition, a print of a painting commissioned by Dr.Andrew A. Hendricks will be raffled. The painting, which shows the land owned by Hendricks’ early Dutchancestors, is &#8220The Mesier Mill, Manhattan, c. 1695.” The settlement clustered around a landmark windmill, is on the land now known as Ground Zero in Manhattan.

Following the box lunch, the annual Hendricks Award will be presented to Dirk Mouw for his dissertation “Moederkerk and Vaderland: Religion and Ethnic Identity in the Middle Colonies, 1690-1772.” Dr.Hendricks endows the award of $5,000 for the best book-length manuscript relating to the Dutch colonial experience in North America.

“Re-visiting Wampum, and Other 17th Century Shell Games” will be the topic ofJames Bradley, Ph.D., speaker at the dinner meeting at the University Club. Dr. Bradley is the 2009 winner of the Hendricks Manuscript Award.

The NNI is a membership organization with the responsibility of support for the New Netherland Research Center (NNRC), located in the New York State Library inAlbany. The NNI raises funds and administers grants such as the matching gift of €200,000 presented in Albany in 2009 by Crown Prince Willem Alexander and the Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands.

The NNRC is based on the New Netherland Project of translating 17th-century Dutchdocuments as its core, with Charles Th. Gehring, Ph.D. as its director.

Registration for the daylong seminar is $50 or $25 for students with ID. Box lunches may be ordered in advancefor $10. Tickets for the welcome reception and dinner at the University Club are $65.

As an added incentive, participants in the Sept. 25 New Netherland Seminar should know that the Replica Ship Half Moon will be docked in Albany that weekend (at the OGS pumping station at the south end of the Corning Preserve) and will be open for tours from 10 AM to 4 PM on both Saturday and Sunday.

More information is available at the website www.newnetherlandinstitute.org. Questions may be directed to [email protected].

Illustration: Mesier Mill by Len Tantillo. The mill was located at the site of today’s Ground Zero.

Albany Institute Offers Shoe Exhibits

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The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced two related upcoming exhibitions: “The Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories” and “Old Soles: Three Centuries of Shoes from the Albany Institute’s Collection.” The exhibitions open on October 16, 2010, and close on January 2, 2011.

Since the invention of protective foot coverings by early societies thousands of years ago, shoes have become not only an essential element of our clothing, but also symbols of status, utility, amusement, and art. “The Perfect Fit” features more than 100 examples of fanciful footwear created by contemporary American artists between 2004 and 2008. The shoes are made of materials ranging from clay, metal, fabric, wood, glass, and paper, and transcend everyday style and function to illustrate various themes pertaining to issues of gender, history, sexuality, class, race, and culture.

The exhibition, curated by Wendy Tarlow Kaplan, is organized by the Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA. An illustrated catalog accompanies the exhibition and will be on sale in the Albany Institute’s Museum Shop for $10.00.

Accompanying “The Perfect Fit” will be a complementary exhibition entitled “Old Soles: Three Centuries of Shoes from the Albany Institute’s Collection.” The selection includes a variety of shoes ranging from a pair of brocaded silk women’s wedding shoes from the early 18th century to modern men’s and women’s footwear from the 20th century. The collection also includes protective over-shoes, pattens, slippers, jeweled buckles, work shoes, boots, and more. The Old Soles exhibition will be located in the museum’s Lansing Gallery, in proximity to many historic paintings in which the subjects are wearing shoes similar to those that will be on display.

Photo: Red riding shoes awarded to Miss Catherine Fitch for “Best Equestrian Rider” at the Albany Agricultural Society Fair, September, 1856, Wool felt and leather, 1856,
Gift of Margaret Boom, 1941.45, from Old Soles.

Albany Institute Awarded Big Grant For Website

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The Albany Institute of History & Art has been selected to receive a 2010 Museums for America grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant is specifically designated to help fund a website redevelopment project entitled, Digital Renaissance, which will evaluate, design, and repurpose the museum’s website so that virtual visitors can experience the rich history and cultural heritage of Albany and the Hudson Valley through the museum’s collections, education programs, and exhibits. The IMLS grant award of $147,904 will provide approximately 40 percent of the total estimated project cost of $369,914.

“It is difficult to overstate the importance of this grant for our museum right now,” said Christine Miles, executive director of the Albany Institute. “In the Information Age, with electronic communication technologies advancing exponentially every day, websites have become an indispensible tool for nonprofit organizations who need to reach much wider and more diverse audiences. This grant will enable us to make the virtual Albany Institute experience as enjoyable and enriching as the on-site experience of visiting the galleries, classrooms, and shop. It will also enhance efforts already underway to digitize our vast collection.”

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Museums for America is IMLS’s largest grant program for museums, providing more than $19 million to support the role of museums in sustaining cultural heritage, supporting lifelong learning- and serving as centers of community engagement. Museums for America grants strengthen a museum’s ability to serve the public more effectively by supporting high-priority activities that advance the institution’s mission and strategic goals.

“This year’s MFA grant recipients are truly an exciting and diverse group of museums, representing the remarkable ways that large and small institutions are serving communities,” said Marsha L. Semmel, IMLS’s acting director, in announcing the award. “Funded projects support digitization and collections management plans, enhanced accessibility, environmental literacy, and much more. The work of these institutions will educate and inspire citizens of all ages. IMLS is pleased to support museums as they engage their communities through programming tailored to their specific needs, and this round of MFA grants furthers this work.”

The Albany Institute’s Digital Renaissance project was one of 178 awards chosen from 510 applications to the 2010 Museums for America program. In total, the program awarded $19.5 million. To learn more about IMLS, visit www.imls.gov.

As part of Digital Renaissance’s evaluation process, the Albany Institute has partnered with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Language, Literature, and Communication. RPI Professor Patricia Search is the principal investigator for the research project and, along with RPI student Natt Phenjati, began formative evaluation phase of the project earlier this year. Launch of the Albany Institute’s new website is scheduled for early 2012.

“This research will help the museum create a dynamic, interactive website that will extend and enrich the total museum experience, particularly in the areas of personal engagement and community involvement,” said Search. “Museums have an opportunity to reach a wide audience with creative, engaging websites. With digital technology it is possible to display additional artifacts from the museum collections that add to the overall understanding of special and permanent exhibits. However, in order to create an effective website, it is necessary to carefully evaluate the demographics, interests, and needs of the people who use the website. The research we’ll be doing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will evaluate how diverse groups of people will use the new website design to access information about the Albany Institute, including their collections, exhibitions, and educational programs.”

One of America’s oldest museums, the Albany Institute of History & Art was founded in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington, making it older than the Louvre, the Smithsonian, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Albany Institute Lecture on Clarks Picasso Exhibit

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This Thursday, July 15, at 6:00 pm, the Albany Institute of History & Art will host a free lecture by Sarah Lees, Associate Curator of European Art at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Lees will discuss The Clark’s current exhibition, Picasso Looks at Degas, which opened on June 13 and will close on September 12.

Picasso Looks at Degas is a fascinating exhibition including work from both artists. The first of its kind to explore the relationship between the two masters, the exhibition mainly focuses on Pablo Picasso’s work made in response to or inspired by the work of Edgar Degas, who was his Parisian neighbor in the early 20th century. Picasso admired Degas, though it is not clear whether the two ever met. The exhibition illustrates how Picasso’s work often echoes imagery and devices typical of Degas without blatantly imitating him. Picasso Looks at Degas traces the development of both artists and includes a broad array of mediums, including paintings, sculptures, and etchings.

The lecture will take place at the Albany Institute, 125 Washington Ave., Albany, and is free and open to the public. Call (518) 463-4478 for more information.

Illustration: Nude Wringing her Hair, 1952, Pablo Picasso, oil on plywood, 154 x 120 cm, private collection, Acquavella Gallery, New York. © 2010 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Archives Partnership Trust to Honor Richard Dreyfuss

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The New York State Archives Partnership Trust and the History channel will host a conversation with Academy Award-winning actor and passionate advocate for strengthening history education in our schools Richard Dreyfuss and nationally prominent Lincoln Scholar Harold Holzer to be held on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 7:30-8:30pm at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. Mr. Dreyfuss will then be presented with the Empire State Archives and History Award.

The cost for the program is $10 per person (plus handling fees). Tickets are available August 1st. Reservations are required. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Egg Box Office at (518) 473-1845 or online at www.theegg.org.

In advance of the program, a reception to meet Mr. Dreyfuss will be held at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts, from 5:30-7:00 pm. Reservations will be accepted starting August 2, 2010 by calling the Trust office at (518) 473-7091. Please see the Trust website for reception ticket prices.