Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., recently announced the return of 12 antiquities to the Republic of Türkiye valued at over $33 million. Nine of the objects were recovered pursuant to the recently concluded criminal investigation into antiquities possessed by Shelby White, which resulted in the seizure of 89 stolen antiquities, valued at $69 million and originating from 10 different countries. [Read more…] about Manhattan DA Returns Stolen Antiquities to Turkey
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Four Nymphs, a Satyr and Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile
Until the mid-1860s the Fifth Avenue area around Madison Square was Manhattan’s “aristocratic” heart. Its brownstone mansions were occupied by the city’s elite. The gradual incursion of commerce into this residential haven started with high-class hotels.
In 1864 Hoffmann House was one of the first to open its doors. Owned by Cassius H. Read, it was located on the corner of 25th Street & Broadway and contained tree hundred rooms with all the latest conveniences. The establishment proudly advertised its lavish furnishings, carefully chosen artworks, and refined French (Parisian) cuisine. At a time that hotel living was becoming a fashionable alternative to owning a family mansion for wealthy New Yorkers, Hoffmann House was recommended as the most comfortable and homelike residence in the metropolis.
During the 1880s the hotel’s “grand salon” became one of New York’s “secretive” attractions for a very specific reason. [Read more…] about Four Nymphs, a Satyr and Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile
George Deem, Bulldozers and Stalinist Suppression
Manhattan artist George Deem is remembered for referencing the history of painting by re-imagining Old Masters in a contemporary context. He re-configured iconic pictorial images through visual ploys such as repetition and erasure, or through the addition of components of contemporary life and art. [Read more…] about George Deem, Bulldozers and Stalinist Suppression
Meppel to Manhattan: Duveen, Altman, and the Relocation of European Art
Meppel is relatively small Dutch municipality in the north-easterly agricultural province of Drenthe. It is a market town for dairy products, cereals, and pigs. What is the association between this sleepy country place and cosmopolitan New York City? [Read more…] about Meppel to Manhattan: Duveen, Altman, and the Relocation of European Art
Ballston’s Hawkwood Estate: Teddy Roosevelt, Guy Baker & The Countess
Theodore Roosevelt spent a bit of time in Saratoga County, particularly in the years leading up to and including his time as Governor of New York (1899-1900).
TR would often visit a friend, Guy Baker, who lived in Ballston. He hunted on Baker’s Hawkwood estate and sometimes brought members of his family for short visits with the Bakers. [Read more…] about Ballston’s Hawkwood Estate: Teddy Roosevelt, Guy Baker & The Countess
Utica Area Artist’s Work Acquired by the Met
A work by Serena Perrone, Assistant Professor of Printmaking and Drawing at PrattMWP College of Art and Design, Utica, has recently been acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the City of New York. [Read more…] about Utica Area Artist’s Work Acquired by the Met
New York Museum Exhibit Catalogues Recognized
The Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) has announced its annual Awards for Excellence in the categories of museum Catalogues, Articles/Essays, and Exhibitions.
Four New York Museums were recognized in the Catalogues category, with first place for museums with an operating budget of $4M going to The Polaroid Years: Instant Photography and Experimentation by Mary-Kay Lombino and Peter Buse, of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. [Read more…] about New York Museum Exhibit Catalogues Recognized
Met Museum of Art Archives Opens Two Collections
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives has announced the availability for research of two collections of records of 20th century museum officials.
These are among 15 collections being arranged, described, and cataloged over 27 months with funding from the Leon Levy Foundation. Work on the approximately 300 linear feet of records by two full-time archivists began in January 2013. Finding aids are now available online for: [Read more…] about Met Museum of Art Archives Opens Two Collections
Mystery of the Albany Mummies Exhibition, Lectures
In conjunction with its newest exhibition The Mystery of the Albany Mummies, the Albany Institute of History & Art will host an international lecture series. The first lecture will take place on this Sunday, September 22, 2013, at 2 PM.
Dr. Peter Lacovara, Senior Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, and guest curator of the new exhibition, will explore how he helped solve the mystery of the Albany mummies, gathered objects from around the world to tell the story of Ankhefenmut and his coffin, and how the exhibition offers a window into the life in ancient Egypt’s 21st Dynasty. The lecture is free with museum admission. [Read more…] about Mystery of the Albany Mummies Exhibition, Lectures
New Online Resources For New York History
Here’s a quick look at some of the latest New York History resources to hit the web:
- The Syracuse University Archives has completed the processing of the George Fisk Comfort Family Collection, dating from 1822 to 1956, which contains a significant amount of material from George Fisk Comfort (1833-1910), the first dean of the (now defunct) College of Fine Arts at Syracuse University, and was involved in the establishment the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as what is now the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse. The collection also includes material associated with Silas Comfort, a Methodist minister and Anna Manning Comfort. Various items, such as letters and family photographs, were digitized and are available in the online finding aid. [Read more…] about New Online Resources For New York History