New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

painting

Artists Reflect On the Impact of Great Migration in New Exhibit

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A Movement in Every DirectionBetween 1915 and 1970, in the wake of racial terror during the post-Reconstruction period, millions of Black Americans fled from their homes to other areas within the South and to other parts of the country. This movement of people caused a radical shift in the demographic, economic, and sociopolitical makeup of the United States.

For instance, New York City — and particularly Manhattan — became home to hundreds of thousands of Black Americans during this time, catalyzing the start of the artistic and cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. [Read more…] about Artists Reflect On the Impact of Great Migration in New Exhibit

Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

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crossroads of rockland history2022 marks the 140th birthday of Edward Hopper (1882-1967). On the November episode of Crossroads of Rockand History, we learned about the events celebrating this important American artist, who was born in Nyack, in Rockland County, NY. [Read more…] about Celebrating Artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)

Revelations From William Sidney Mount’s Long Island Paintings

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long island history project logoWilliam Sidney Mount was known for his keenly-observed portraits and scenes of everyday life on Long Island during the first half of the 19th century. He portrayed farmers, fiddlers, tradesmen, and workers in their natural haunts, laughing, singing, and enjoying life. [Read more…] about Revelations From William Sidney Mount’s Long Island Paintings

New Mural Project Finishes in Old Forge

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Old Forge Mural courtesy Living ADKLiving ADK and View, the Center for Arts and Culture, have teamed up to create a new mural that is hanging on the side of Souvenir Village by the five corners/Point Park in Old Forge, NY.

The mural was designed and painted by Char Miller, a View summer intern and current Rochester Institute of Technology graphic design student, over the course of multiple days in August. [Read more…] about New Mural Project Finishes in Old Forge

Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History

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figures created by Jack BinderWhat might Lake George have looked like 265 years ago, on the eve of the French attack on Fort William Henry?

That’s the focus of the display in the entryway to the Fort museum and historical attraction. It includes three figures – an American provincial, a British regular and a ranger, all created by the late Jack Binder for the reconstructed fort, which opened to the public in 1955. [Read more…] about Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History

Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

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Men Working in Slate Quarry Granville Mural“Men Working in Slate Quarry,” the 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) funded mural displayed at the Slate Valley Museum in Granville, Washington County, NY is as good an example as you will find of “Art for the People.”

The subject of the museum’s current exhibition “One Painting, Many Stories,” explores many of the artistic, cultural and political contexts within which the mural was created. [Read more…] about Granville’s WPA Mural of Working in a Slate Quarry

Restored Paintings on View at the Historical Society of Woodstock

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Arnold Blanch, Portrait of Hervey White, 1926, 22 x 26 in, Oil on canvas.Two signature paintings in the permanent collection of the Historical Society of Woodstock – Arnold Blanch’s Hervey White in his Studio (1926) and Edmund Rolfe’s Landscape (1914) – have been restored and are currently displayed at the Historical Society’s Eames House Museum at 20 Comeau Drive. [Read more…] about Restored Paintings on View at the Historical Society of Woodstock

New York: A Metropolis of Murals

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Harry Siddons Mowbray’s Renaissance murals at J.P. Morgan’s Library on Madison AvenuePlastered on walls in public spaces and civic buildings, scattered in hotels and restaurants, hidden in private mansions, a plenitude of murals form part of New York City’s infrastructure.

Although American interest in the medium originated in the 1893 World Fair which presented visitors with numerous large-scale murals, the vogue for this form of artistic expression dates back to the Great Depression. With the introduction of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933, federal funds were made available to support and promote public art. Muralism became fashionable. [Read more…] about New York: A Metropolis of Murals

Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe

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painting by Nellie Mae RoweThe Brooklyn Museum has announced “Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe,” an exhibit exploring themes of girlhood, play, and spirituality, contextualizing Rowe’s practice as a radical act of self-expression and liberation for a Black woman artist in the Jim Crow–era South, on view from from September 2nd, 2002, to January 1st, 2023. [Read more…] about Really Free: The Radical Art of Nellie Mae Rowe