History, Natural History & the Arts
“Wings and Wilderness: Birds and Landscapes of the Northeast,” a selection of artworks from the Museum of American Bird Art at Mass Audubon (MABA) in Canton, Massachusetts, is now on view at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY, through October 11, 2026.
The exhibition comprises a range of traditional and contemporary artwork portraying and interpreting species native to the region in a variety of media. [Read more…] about Wings and Wilderness: Birds and Landscapes of the Northeast
May 4 marks the 200th birthday of Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), the Hudson River School painter who helped shape how Americans imagined Upstate New York.
Over at The Jiffy, a podcast about the arts and sciences of upstate, James Cave kicks off a three-part series marking the 200th Anniversary of Frederic Church’s birth. He starts at Olana, looking out at the same view Church called “the center of the world.” [Read more…] about Celebrating Painter Frederic Church’s 200th Anniversary
In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Fort Orange, the Albany Institute of History & Art is presenting “Delights of the Senses,” an exhibition highlighting 17th-century Dutch culture. [Read more…] about ‘Delights of the Senses’ Marks 400th Anniversary of Fort Orange
Looking 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
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
William 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
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
The 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
The 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
In 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 (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
In 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
Tammis 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
The Albany Institute of History & Art will host Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop in Boston’s Downtown Crossing section, for a virtual presentation on the value of old and rare books, on Thursday, July 8th. [Read more…] about Book Specialist to Discuss Value of Old, Rare Books
The 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 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
The Albany Institute of History & Art is set to host two virtual events led by Donald “The Soul Man” Hyman, on Saturday, February 6th, and Saturday, February 13th. [Read more…] about Music & History of Motown: A Virtual Performance, Lecture
The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced Winter Amusements, a season of safe and enjoyable activities at the museum this winter.
Running through February 2021, Winter Amusements showcases special seasonal displays at the museum, including a new pop-up outdoor exhibition, traditional favorites, festive decorations, and art activities to go. [Read more…] about Winter Amusements at the Albany Institute of History & Art
The Albany Institute of History & Art has announced “Personal Insults, Street Brawls, and Uncounted Ballots: Electoral Politics in Federalist New York” an online program set for Thursday, November 19th. [Read more…] about Insults, Brawls and Uncounted Ballots: Elections in Federalist New York
The Albany Institute of History & Art is set to host “Confronting Slavery: Discovering Family History in the Hudson Valley,” an online program with genealogists Eleanor Mire and Debra Bruno on Sunday, October 18th. [Read more…] about Confronting Slavery: Hudson Valley Family History
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