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Albany Institute of History & Art

Finding the Adirondacks in Albany: A History Tour & Special Museum Event

September 19, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Pruyn House in Colonie NYLooking to the Adirondacks from Albany, we can learn much about members of the Pruyn family and many other notable figures who influenced the Adirondack region as well.

In the mid-19th-century, garden cemeteries like the Albany Rural Cemetery borrowed designs that took a picturesque form, with tree-lined, meandering paths, stonework, and curated plantings. [Read more…] about Finding the Adirondacks in Albany: A History Tour & Special Museum Event

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Adirondack Architectural Heritage, Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany Rural Cemetery, Historic Albany Foundation, Preservation League of New York State, Pruyn House

Free Summer Concert Series at Albany Institute of History & Art

June 20, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced a summer concert series, “Night at the Museum: A Musical Celebration of Local Artists,” set to kick off on Thursday, June 29th with a performance by the Jon Leroy Duo. [Read more…] about Free Summer Concert Series at Albany Institute of History & Art

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Albany Institute of History & Art

William O. Stillman: Leader of Humane Societies, Friend of Animals & Children

April 3, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

The Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society's building on Fourth Street inin Troy, NYWilliam O. Stillman was born on September 9th, 1856 in Normansville, now known as Elsmere in the town of the Bethlehem, Albany County, NY. His parents were Rev. Stephen Lewis Stillman and Lucretia (Miller) Stillman.

Rev. Stephen Lewis Stillman was a Methodist minister at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Adamsville (now Delmar) and a descendant of a family that had emigrated from London, England. Lucretia (Miller) Stillman was of Dutch descent. Rev. Stephen suddenly died in 1869, when William was 12 years old. After his father’s death, William and his mother moved to Albany. [Read more…] about William O. Stillman: Leader of Humane Societies, Friend of Animals & Children

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Institute of History & Art, Albany Med, Albany Rural Cemetery, American Humane Association, ASPCA, Bethlehem, cats, Colonie, Crime and Justice, Delmar, dogs, Education, Horses, Housing, Medical History, Menands, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, New York State Library, pets, poultry, poverty, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs, William O. Stillman

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

December 24, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Institute of History & Art, Art History, Christmas, Cultural History, Holidays, Instagram, Pop Culture History

Gordon Parks Photography Exhibit at the Albany Institute

December 15, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, New Exhibits Tagged With: Albany Institute of History & Art, Gordon Parks

Paul Scott’s New American Scenery On Exhibit in Albany

November 13, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany Institute of History & Art

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

May 15, 2022 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

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

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, Nature Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Albany Institute of History & Art, Geography, Geology, James Eights, Marine Life, Maritime History, painting, Rensselaer County, RPI, Science History, Whaling, Wildlife

Stephen Van Rensselaer III: The Last Patroon

May 4, 2022 by Peter Hess 6 Comments

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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Abraham Ten Broeck, Albany County, Albany Institute of History & Art, Anti-Rent War, Battle of Queenstown Heights, Canada, Erie Canal, Legal History, Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, Rensselaer County, Rensselaerswijck, RPI, Schenectady County, Stephen Van Rensselaer III, Van Rensselaers, War of 1812, Williams College

Historical Play Considers Sleeping Car Porters Union

January 30, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Albany Institute of History & Art

Albany Institute Director Tammis Groft Announces Retirement

July 8, 2021 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

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

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany, Albany Institute of History & Art, Museums

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