New York City

Irish History: Eamon De Valera in America

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A new book by Irish journalist and commentator Dave Hannigan, De Valera in America: The Rebel President and the Making of Irish Independence, illuminates an interesting period in New York Irish history when de Valera, born in New York City in 1882, made an important return trip to convince Americans to recognize the newly proclaimed Irish Republic.

Eamon de Valera is one of the most famous characters in Irish history. He commanded troops during the 1916 Easter Rising, co-authored the Irish constitution, and in 1926 founded Fianna Fail, which continues to be the largest political party in Ireland today. De Valera was head of the Irish government from 1932–48, 1951–54 and 1957–59 and President of Ireland from 1959–73.

In June 1919, he arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel pronouncing himself the &#8220President of Ireland.&#8221 He was on a mission to convince the United States to recognize Ireland as an independent nation, and also to fund the independence movement, which would be a clear affront to Britain. De Valera went on to give speeches in some of America’s largest venues, including Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park, where he drew crowds of 60,000 people. Over the course of that year, he accumulated fame and scandal, but more importantly, he gained essential financial support for the fledgling Irish Republic.

For the first time, a book follows de Valera on his controversial trip across America, exploring his personal and political relationships, and the costs and benefits of his perilous crusade. From newspaper headlines to cloak and dagger antics, Hannigan delivers a truly unique slice of Irish Americana, bringing to life this pivotal moment in history.

Dave Hannigan is a columnist at The Sunday Tribune in Dublin, the Evening Echo (Cork) and The Irish Echo. A former Irish young journalist of the year, he is also an adjunct professor of history at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island. He lives in Rocky Point, New York.

New-York Historical, NYC Media Offer Video Shorts

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The New-York Historical Society and NYC Media, the official network of the City of New York, have partnered to produce When &#8220Did the Statue of Liberty Turn Green? & Other Questions about New York City,&#8221 a special series of 90 one-minute videos that feature the staff of the New-York Historical Society answering some of the most captivating questions ever posed to them about the City’s unique history. The video series airs every evening at 7:30pm on NYC life (Channel 25) in anticipation of the reopening of the New-York Historical Society’s Museum galleries on November 11, 2011. The series can also be viewed online on the NYC Media Video on Demand player.

“Inquisitive viewers will get the answers they’ve been looking for as the New-York Historical Society shares its vast knowledge and archive in our new series,” said Diane Petzke, general manager, NYC Media. “As part of our ongoing efforts to partner with local cultural organizations, we’re delighted to bring this fun and engaging perspective of City history to New Yorkers.”

“We are pleased to partner with NYC Media as we count down toward the re-opening of our galleries 90 days from now,” said Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “As the oldest cultural institution in New York City, we have a history that is closely tied to the history of the City as a whole. What better way to celebrate than by exploring the fascinating, sometimes surprising questions put to us by curious New Yorkers and visitors?”

On Veterans’ Day, Friday, November 11, 2011, the New-York Historical Society will throw open its doors as never before after completing a three-year renovation of its Central Park West building. The face of the institution—the first museum established in New York—will be transformed as visitors of all ages are welcomed to this great cultural destination. Visitors will experience brand-new gallery spaces that are more open and hospitable, both to major exhibitions and to a vastly expanded public. Highlights include, a multi-screen presentation of American history seen through the lens of New York City- the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, the first of its kind in New York, where the past comes to life through the stories of real children- a new museum restaurant operated by Stephen Starr Restaurants in a light-filled, modern space- and a permanent exhibition taking visitors on an interactive journey from colonial times to the September 11th attacks, incorporating high-definition digital screens and original artifacts. For more information about the New-York Historical Society’s re-opening, visit nyhistory.org.

Young Al Capone: Scarface in New York

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Many people are familiar with the story of Al Capone, the &#8220untouchable&#8221 Chicago gangster best known for orchestrating the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. But few are aware that Capone’s remarkable story began in the Navy Yard section of Brooklyn. Tutored by the likes of infamous mobsters Johnny Torrio and Frankie Yale, young Capone’s disquieting demeanor, combined with the &#8220technical advice&#8221 he learned from these insidious pedagogues, contributed to the molding of a brutal criminal whose pseudonym, &#8220Scarface,&#8221 evoked fascination throughout the world.

Despite the best efforts of previous biographers lacking true insider access, details about Capone’s early years have generally remained shrouded in mystery. Now through family connections the authors of Young Al Capone: The Untold Story of Scarface in New York, 1899-1925, William and John Balsamo, were able to access Capone’s known living associates. Collecting information through these interviews and rare documents, the life of young Al Capone in New York comes into greater focus.

Among the revelations in Young Al Capone are new details about the brutal Halloween Night murder of rival gangster &#8220Wild Bill&#8221 Lovett, grisly details on how Capone and his Black Hand crew cleverly planned the shootout and barbaric hatchet slaying of White Hand boss, Richard &#8220Peg Leg&#8221 Lonergan, insight into the dramatic incident that forced Capone to leave New York, and more.

Bill Balsamo, considered by some to be one of the premier Capone historians, has invested more than twenty-five years in researching and writing this book. He is the author of Crime, Inc. (now in its fifth printing). John Balsamo worked on the Brooklyn waterfront for more than thirty years while compiling extensive material regarding the life of young Capone.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Exhibit: Rarely Seen Paintings by Eva Hesse

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Eva Hesse Eva Hesse Spectres 1960, an exhibition of rarely seen paintings by the artist Eva Hesse (1936-1970), will be presented in the Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art beginning September 16, 2011. Created when Hesse was just 24 years old, this group of eighteen semi-representational oil paintings, while standing in contrast to the works for which she is well known, nonetheless constitutes a vital link to her later Minimalist sculptural assemblages. Although several recent museum exhibitions of Hesse’s work have featured a few of these paintings from 1960, none have considered them as a group, all together.

There are two distinct groups within the Spectres series. In the first, the paintings are intimate in scale and the loosely rendered figures are gaunt, standing or dancing in groups of two or three yet disconnected from one another. The second group, in traditional easel-painting scale, presents both odd, alien-like creatures and certain depictions that resemble the artist herself.

The exhibition considers these evocative, spectral paintings not merely as self portraits but as states of consciousness&#8211thereby opening a dialogue about Hesse’s aspirations versus the nightmares and visions that remained constant throughout her life. Working against critical commentary that has seen these works as abject exercises in self deprecation, Eva Hesse Spectres 1960 examines them as testimony of private struggle.

Born in Hamburg in 1936, Eva Hesse and her family left in 1938 to escape the fate of Germany’s Jews and settled in New York City. She was determined to become an artist from an early age, striving at first to be a painter. Later she began to create startlingly original sculptural configurations that exploited the properties of cheesecloth, rubber, plastic, tubing, cloth, and other materials. Hesse achieved a level of success attained by few women of the time. In 1963 she had her first solo show- by 1968 she had gallery representation. She died in 1970 of a brain tumor. Two years after her untimely death, the Guggenheim Museum held a retrospective of her work&#8211its first for a woman.

Eva Hesse Spectres 1960 was organized by E. Luanne McKinnon, Director of the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is organized by Catherine Morris, Curator, of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. The works in the exhibition come from both public and private collections.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the University of New Mexico Art Museum and Yale University Press (2010). It includes color reproductions of all of the works in the exhibition, along with new scholarship in four essays by: E. Luanne McKinnon, Director, University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque- Elisabeth Bronfen, Global Distinguished Professor of German, New York University, and Chair of American Studies, University of Zurich- Louise S. Milne, Lecturer at the Napier University and the Centre for Visual Studies, Edinburgh College of Art- and Helen Molesworth, Chief Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

Eva Hesse Spectres 1960 is organized by the University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, in collaboration with the Estate of Eva Hesse.

Illustration: Eva Hesse (American, born Germany, 1936-1970). No title, 1960. Oil on canvas. 36 x 36 inches (91.44 x 91.44 cm). Collection of Barbara Bluhm-Kaul and Don Kaul, Chicago, Illinois, USA

New Academic Book Takes on Mad Men

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Since it premiered in July 2007, the AMC cable network’s &#8220Mad Men&#8221 series has won many awards and been syndicated across the globe. Its imprint is evident throughout contemporary culture—from TV advertisements and magazine covers to designer fashions and online debate. Its creator, Matthew Weiner, a former executive producer on &#8220The Sopranos,&#8221 has again created compelling, complex characters, this time in the sophisticated, go-go world of Madison Avenue of the 1960s, with smoking, drinking, and the playing out of prejudices and anxieties of an era long neglected in popular culture. As editor Gary R. Edgerton and a host of other well-known contributors demonstrate in this new title, Mad Men: Dream Come True TV, Mad Men is a zeitgeist show of the early twenty-first century.

Edgerton, who is Chair of the Communications and Theater Arts Department at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has edited this book to provide an academic yet still engaging read that sheds light on the appeal and attraction of the television series, as well as it’s cultural import.

Mad Men: Dream Come True TV features essays that analyze and celebrate the cutting edge TV series. It also includes an interview with the show’s Executive Producer Brett Hornbacher and an episode guide. The book presents essays under five parts: Industry and Authorship, Visual and Aural Stylistics and Influences, Narrative Dynamics and Genealogy, Sexual Politics and Gender Roles, Cultural Memory and the American Dream.

The book is part of the Reading Contemporary Television Series which offers a variety of intellectually challenging responses to what is happening in television today. Other books in the series have tackled CSI, Deadwood, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Sex and the City, The L Word, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Doctor Who, 24 and more.

Gary R. Edgerton’s previous books have included The Essential HBO Reader (with Jeffrey P. Jones) and The Columbia History of American Television. He is co-editor of the Journal of Popular Film and Television.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Historical Fiction: Secret of the White Rose

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2010 Edgar Award winning Author Stefanie Pintoff has a new novel of historic fiction set in turn-of-the-century New York, Secret of the White Rose.

The murder of Judge Hugo Jackson is out of Detective Simon Ziele’s jurisdiction in more ways than one. For one, it’s high-profile enough to command the attention of the notorious new police commissioner, since Judge Jackson was presiding over the sensational trial of Al Drayson. Drayson, an anarchist, set off a bomb at a Carnegie family wedding, but instead of killing millionaires, it killed passersbys, including a child. The dramatic trial captured the full attention of 1906 New York City.

Furthermore, Simon’s assigned precinct on Manhattan’s West Side includes the gritty Tenderloin but not the tonier Gramercy Park, which is where the judge is found in his locked town house with his throat slashed on the night before the jury is set to deliberate. But his widow insists on calling her husband’s old classmate criminologist, Alistair Sinclair, who in turn enlists Ziele’s help. Together they must steer Sinclair’s unorthodox methods past a police force that is so focused on rounding up Drayson’s supporters that they’ve all but rejected any other possibilities.

Stefanie Pintoff’s combination of characters and a fascinating case set amongst the sometimes brutal, sometimes glittering history of turn-of-the-century New York makes for compelling reading.

Pintofff, who won an Edgar Award Winner for her first novel, is a long-time New Yorker whose first two novels, In the Shadow of Gotham (April 2009), A Curtain Falls (May 2010) also cover early New York circa 1904-1906.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

N-Y Historical Commemorates 9/11 With Exhibition

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One month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the New-York Historical Society committed its resources to a new initiative called, History Responds, with exhibitions, public events and educational initiatives. Since then, the Society has presented 17 special exhibitions relating to the attacks, 20 public programs, five community meetings, numerous school and teacher programs and, when the Society’s newly-renovated headquarters reopens on September 8, 2011, a permanent installation of photographs and other materials donated by survivors, witnesses, and rescuers.

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of September 11, the New-York Historical Society will present a special exhibition, Remembering 9/11, which will be free to the public. The exhibition opens on September 7, 2011 and will remain on view through April 1, 2012. The exhibition presents a selection of several hundred photographs taken by professional and amateur photographers in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center (originally collected in the independent exhibition “here is new york: a democracy of photographs”), as well as letters written to policemen and firemen- objects that were placed in makeshift shrines around New York- images and texts from the New York Times “Portraits of Grief” series- photographs of the Tribute in Light- and drawings of the National September 11 Memorial, designed by architect Michael Arad with the assistance of landscape architect Peter Walker.

As a special presentation for families, the Historical Society will also host a free reading by Vin Panaro, Bugler for the Fire Department of New York, and Katie Fuller, Museum Educator, of Maira Kalman’s book Fireboat, to be held in the Rotunda from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, 2011.

“In the months immediately following September 11, 2001, the New-York Historical Society began a vigorous collecting initiative and exhibition program regarding the terrorist attacks,” Kenneth T. Jackson stated. “This was our responsibility, as the institution founded to gather, preserve and interpret materials related to the history of New York City and State and the nation. “On the tenth anniversary of the attacks, it is important that the Historical Society is continuing this effort with Remembering 9/11.”

Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, stated, “It takes a great historian to recognize the importance of his or her own historical moment, and to collect and preserve its effects. My predecessor, Kenneth T. Jackson is that great historian. On September 11th Ken recognized the tragedy of the day keenly, but saw also the need to collect and preserve so that future generations would understand what September 11th meant, for our city, our nation, our history. It is because of Ken’s work that our tenth anniversary exhibition Remembering 9/11 is able to document New York’s, and the nation’s, resilience along with the selfless acts of heroism, not only at the World Trade Center but also at the Pentagon and Shanksville.”

Remembering 9/11 is organized for the New-York Historical Society by Marilyn Satin Kushner, Curator and Head, Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections. “I wanted to create a space where people could come to quietly remember those days in 2001 and honor the memories of the people who were lost in the attacks. The solemnity of this occasion calls for a mood of respect and introspection,” stated Dr. Kushner.

When the renovated and transformed New-York Historical Society opens fully to the public on November 11, 2011, Remembering 9/11 will be joined by a permanent installation of photographs from “here is new york” in the Robert H. and Clarice Smith New York Gallery of American History. Approximately 1,500 photographs by 790 contributors will be on display, along with a large fragment of a fire truck destroyed during the 9/11 attack.

Since the inception of the Historical Society’s History Responds, more than 150,000 visitors have taken part in its interpretive programs. Today, the History Responds collection includes numerous artifacts associated with September 11, ranging from architectural relics of the Twin Towers to artworks inspired by the catastrophe.

Remembering 9/11 is supported by Bernard and Irene Schwartz.

Photo: Alan Finkel, Untitled, 2001. New-York Historical Society, Courtesy of Alan Finkel.

New S. R. Stoddard Exhibit: New York Harbor

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The Chapman Historical Museum in Glens Falls (Warren County) has opened a new exhibit of Seneca Ray Stoddard photographs featuring views of New York Harbor. Taken in the 1880s on his visits to New York City, the fifteen photographs include images of sailboats and steamers in the harbor, people bathing on the beach at Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge and other landmarks. A highlight is Stoddard’s famous night-time photo of the Statue of Liberty, captured using magnesium flash powder. The exhibit, planned to coincide with The Hyde Collection’s exhibit, &#8220NY, NY,&#8221 will be on view through September 4th.

The Chapman Historical Museum is located at 348 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday, noon to 4 pm. For more information call (518) 793-2826.

Photo: Coney Island bathers by Seneca Ray Stoddard, ca. 1880

Brooklyn Museum Announces New Trustees

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Associate Professor of Law at New York Law School Tamara C. Belinfanti, Forest City Ratner Companies Executive Vice President and General Counsel David L. Berliner, and Brooklyn-based artist Fred Tomaselli were elected to the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum at the June Board meeting. The election of Tomaselli marks the first time in recent years an artist has served on the Museum Board.

&#8220We are delighted to welcome these three new Members. They bring a breadth of experience, interest, and expertise that will further enhance and strengthen our Board, working together with Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman and the Staff,&#8221 states newly elected Board Chair John S. Tamagni.

Tamara C. Belinfanti is an Associate Professor of Law at New York Law School and lives in Brooklyn. Previously, she was a Corporate Associate with the international law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was a Clinical Intern to Professor Alan M. Dershowitz.

Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Forest City Ratner Companies, a Brooklyn-based real estate developer and property owner, David Berliner is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Madison Square Park Conservancy and a founding member of their Curatorial Committee, an advisory group that sources and evaluates proposals to commission work of contemporary artists to be shown in Madison Square Park.

A native of California, Fred Tomaselli emerged from the California art scene, creating installation and performance art in the early 1980s. In 1985 he moved to New York, where he was one of the pioneering artists of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His work has been shown worldwide in both galleries and museums and is represented in public and private collections. In the fall of 2010, the Brooklyn Museum presented a critically acclaimed mid-career survey of his work.

Historic Districts Council Elects New President

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The Historic Districts Council, the citywide advocate for New York’s historic neighborhoods, has elected architect Francoise Bollack as the organization’s eighth president. Ms. Bollack is the first woman to serve as HDC’s President.

Francoise Bollack, AIA, is a registered architect with over 30 years of experience in architectural design, preservation and adaptive reuse. Born in Paris, France, Bollack was educated at the Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris and the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts. In 1982 she founded Francoise Bollack Architects in New York City to provide high quality architectural services to private and institutional clients with socially meaningful programs.

Francoise Bollack has served on the Board of the Historic Districts Council since 2007 and chairs the Designation Committee. She is on the Board of Landmark West! and has served as Director on the Board of the Architectural League of New York and the New York State American Institute of Architects. She is a co-founder of the Women in Architecture Committee of the AIA. She lives on Central Park West in a landmark apartment building.

Bollack’s goals as President of the Historic Districts Council are to &#8220strengthen connections with groups engaged in advocacy efforts in New York City, promote high quality design in historic districts, support good government measures and a fully funded LPC. We all love New York City,” Bollack says, “and we want to make sure that it functions and that the architectural and social value of its historic neighborhoods is celebrated.&#8221

HDC is currently celebrating its 40th Birthday this year, and a major part of its new programming is the “6 to Celebrate” program, created by Bollack. This is New York’s only citywide list of preservation priorities. Throughout 2011, HDC will work with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

Bollack has been an Adjunct Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University since 1985, participating in the fall and spring studio and teaching “Design Principles for Preservation” then directing the expanded Fall Studio 1 “Understanding and Documenting Historic Architecture”. In 2009 she began teaching the seminar “Old Buildings – New Forms” based on her ongoing examination of cutting edge designs of additions to old buildings, world-wide: she is currently working on a book about this subject to be published by WW Norton in 2012.

Bollack’s recent design projects include significant interventions in major architecturally and culturally significant public buildings such as the New York State Capitol building in Albany, the Chesterwood Museum in Stockbridge Massachusetts, and the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York City. These projects explore the relationship between historic architecture and new interventions with a rich repertoire of inventive solutions. Her firm’s projects have won awards from the Municipal Art Society, American Institute of Architects, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, New York Landmarks Preservation Commission, New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Victorian Society in America.

Founded in 1971 as a coalition of community groups from New York City’s designated historic districts, the Historic Districts Council has grown to become one of the foremost citywide voices for historic preservation. Serving a network of over 500 neighborhood-based community groups in all five boroughs, HDC strives to protect, preserve and enhance New York City’s historic buildings and neighborhoods through ongoing programs of advocacy, community development and education.