New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Albany Institute For History and Art

America’s First Christmas Card & An Early Albany Department Store

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America's First Christmas Card, Designed and printed by Richard H. Pease for his "Pease's Great Variety Store in the Temple of Fancy" c.1851. Image courtesy of Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collections.Before F. W. Woolworths’, Whitney’s, or even Myer’s department store, there was Pease’s Great Variety Store, located in the Temple of Fancy at 516 and 518 Broadway in Albany, NY.

As with other fancy goods stores, Pease’s catered to the middle and upper middle class selling highly decorated goods like ceramics, prints, furniture and other decorative household items that progressively thinking people might have wanted to purchase. [Read more…] about America’s First Christmas Card & An Early Albany Department Store

Gordon Parks Photography Exhibit at the Albany Institute

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Gordon Parks photo courtesy the Gordon Parks FoundationThe Albany Institute of History & Art has announced “Gordon Parks: I, too, am America,” an exhibition of forty photographs drawn from the Ulrich Museum’s holdings of over 170 photographs by Gordon Parks (1912-2006), one of the most preeminent photographers of the 20th century, through February 4th, 2023. [Read more…] about Gordon Parks Photography Exhibit at the Albany Institute

Paul Scott’s New American Scenery On Exhibit in Albany

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Cumbrian Blue, New American Scenery, Sampler jug by Paul ScottThe Albany Institute of History & Art is currently hosting the exhibition “Paul Scott: New American Scenery,” in which material-based conceptual artist Scott assesses the American landscape from a contemporary approach.

The exhibit will run until December 31st. Through the work in the exhibit, Scott deals with issues of globalization, energy generation and consumption, capitalism, and immigration, and the human impact on the environment. [Read more…] about Paul Scott’s New American Scenery On Exhibit in Albany

James Eights: An Albany Artist-Scientist Who Explored Antarctica in 1830

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portrait of James EightsIn the late 1700s and early 1800s, there were a growing number of adventurers anxious to explore the sea, find new lands, chart new islands, and if they made their fortune while doing it, all the better.

There were also those just trying to get away from home and signing on to a whaling ship seemed the adventure of a lifetime. [Read more…] about James Eights: An Albany Artist-Scientist Who Explored Antarctica in 1830

Stephen Van Rensselaer III: The Last Patroon

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Stephen Van Rensselaer III (Natural Portrait Gallery)Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839), was orphaned at the age of ten. His father had died when he was five and his mother remarried Reverend Eilardus Westerlo, minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany. She died five years later and Stephen was raised by Abraham Ten Broeck (later Brigadier General) and his wife (Stephen’s aunt) Elizabeth Van Rensselaer.

Stephen attended the John Water’s School in Albany, grammar school in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey and Classical School in Kingston. He then attended college at Princeton, but withdrew to Harvard because of the dangers in Northern New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. In 1776, Stephen’s grandfather Philip Livingston (who had married Ten Broeck’s sister Christina) had signed the Declaration of Independence. [Read more…] about Stephen Van Rensselaer III: The Last Patroon

Historical Play Considers Sleeping Car Porters Union

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Conversations on FreedomIn 1925, Pullman Porters were organized into the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This was the first African American labor union that was recognized by the American Federation of Labor.  The union was led by activist A. Philip Randolph.

The Albany Institute of History & Art will host writer/director Donald Hyman on Saturday, February 5th, for the debut of a new film showcasing his historical play Conversations of Freedom. The event will include the film, as well as a short talk and Q&A with Hyman. [Read more…] about Historical Play Considers Sleeping Car Porters Union

Albany Institute Director Tammis Groft Announces Retirement

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Albany institute of history and artTammis K. Groft has announced that she will retire as Executive Director of the Albany Institute of History & Art, a role she has served since June 2013. Groft, who started at the Albany Institute as an intern in 1976, will remain at the museum through the transition of a successor. [Read more…] about Albany Institute Director Tammis Groft Announces Retirement

NY Central Railroad Highlighted In New Albany Exhibit

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20th Century Limited by William Harnden FosterThe Albany Institute of History & Art has announced “Romancing the Rails: Train Travel in the 1920s and 1930s,” a new exhibition featuring objects and library materials from the Albany Institute’s New York Central Railroad collection. [Read more…] about NY Central Railroad Highlighted In New Albany Exhibit

The Historical Art of L. F. Tantillo Exhibition Opens In Albany

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The General Store 1938 by Len TantilloThe Albany Institute of History & Art has announced A Sense of Time: The Historical Art of L. F. Tantillo, a new exhibit highlighting the artist’s forty-year career, bringing together a selection of over 90 works of art by one of the most noted painters of historical subjects and marine views of our time. [Read more…] about The Historical Art of L. F. Tantillo Exhibition Opens In Albany