The Public Lecture Series (except the lecture on October 5) will be held on the uptown campus of the University at Albany , 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York.
Please note that the lectures are not held in the museum. For the convenience of those attending, the museum will be open one hour prior to each lecture. For further information, call the museum office at (518) 442-4035.
Dates of Events: September 26 |
Acknowledgment
We are extremely grateful to The University at Albany Foundation and Azko Nobel Inc. for their generous sponsorship of this lecture series. Special thanks to all the presenters for sharing with us their expertise, which adds such a rich dimension to the extraordinary exhibition, Visions of New York State: The Historical Paintings of L.F. Tantillo. Additional thanks to Ellen Schwartz, the coordinator of the Public Lecture Series, for all her hard work on this project. Marijo Dougherty |
Thursday,
September 26, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
Performing Arts Center (PAC) Recital Hall
The Strange Odyssey of Leonard Tantillo:
From Architect to History Painter
Leonard Tantillo studied architecture at the Rhode Island School of
Design and joined an Albany firm of architects upon graduating. He is
now a history painter of great distinction. Warren RobertsÕ talk
will discuss the unusual career trajectory of this most talented artist,
and it will try to place his work as a history painter in an art historical
perspective.
Dr. Warren Roberts, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of History, University at Albany
Tuesday,
October 1, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
The Steamboat Era on the Hudson River
A review of a virtually forgotten era of transportation that, in its
time period, was important to the economy and growth of New York State.
A number of Mr. TantilloÕs paintings faithfully depict representative
vessels of that era.
Roger Mabie, past president of The Steamship Historical Society of America, is presently the executive vice president of the Hudson River Maritime Museum at Kingston.
Saturday,
October 5, 1996Ñ2:00-4:00 p.m.
The Albany Institute of History & Art
Art at the Albany Institute Which
Has Inspired My Work
To complement the University Art MuseumÕs exhibition, Visions
of New York State: The Historical Paintings of L.F. Tantillo (Sept.
7-Nov. 3), the Albany Institute of History & Art will host a public
program featuring the artist. Mr. Tantillo will present a slide talk
and lead a gallery tour to discuss influences on him by art in the museumÕs
collection, including the landscape paintings of the Hudson River School,
paintings by Albany artist Walter L. Palmer, historical paintings by
Edward L. Henry and artworks by muralist David Lithgow.
A booksigning will follow. Light refreshments will be
served.
Free with museum admission (adults $3.00). For reservations contact
The Albany Institute of History & Art, (518) 463-4478.
Monday, October
7, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
Campus Center Assembly Hall
Beverwijck: A Dutch Village in the
Wilderness
This lecture will focus on the establishment of a Dutch presence on
the upper Hudson, including why the location of present-day Albany was
chosen, how the village developed in relation to the patroonship of
Resselaerswijck and a description of the village through evidence from
primary source material. The lecture will cover the period from HudsonÕs
explorations, the trading post on Castle Island, the construction of
Fort Orange, the formation of Beverwijck, the English takeover, through
the villageÕs incarnation as Willemstad during the third Anglo-Dutch
war.
Charles Gehring, Director, New Netherland ProjectÑA Translation Program of the New York State Library
Thursday,
October 10, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
PAC Main Theater
Painting Four Hundred Years of New
York State History
The artist will discuss the major works that are being exhibited at
the museum in Visions of New York State: The Historical Paintings of
L.F. Tantillo. They will be presented in historical, chronological order,
beginning with Native American subjects and ending in the mid-twentieth
century.
Leonard F. Tantillo, Artist
Thursday,
October 17, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
Architecture, Urban Design, and Civic
Aspiration in Albany
Individual buildings have voices and so do larger urban spaces.
Sometimes they speak coherently, and sometimes they shout each other
down. Sometimes they articulate their makersÕ aspirations, and
sometimes their messages are unintended. We will discuss this interplay
of architecture and urban design in Albany history and in the context
of current debate on downtown revitalization.
John Pipkin, Professor of Geography and Planning, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, University at Albany
Sunday,
October 20, 1996Ñ3:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
The Mohican Indians and the Dutch:
A CenturyÕs Exchange
The speakerÕs research in Dutch accounts and Indian deeds
has unearthed the nearly-forgotten seventeenth century experience of
the upper Hudson ValleyÕs native Americans. Rare slides, presented
with the lecture, show early maps of the 1600s, Indian pictographic
signatures and copies of land transactions.
Shirley Dunn is author of The Mohicans and Their Land, 1609-1730 and co-author of a new book, Dutch Architecture Near Albany: The Polgreen Photographs, both published by Purple Mountain Press.
Wednesday,
October 23, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
The People of Colonial Albany
A musical and visual overview of the first 200 years of community
life in one of the oldest cities in the United States. Its focus is
on the diverse individuals who founded and built the communityÑits
commercial leaders, artisans and tradesmen, shippers and servers, the
women, who represented AlbanyÕs social backbone, and on the racial
and ethnic minorities who together made up the early Albany mainline.
This general audience presentation is based on the research conducted
by the Colonial Albany Social History ProjectÑa model community
history program sponsored by the State Education Department and located
in the New York State Museum.
Stefan Bielinski, Community Historian and Director of the Colonial Albany Social History Project at the New York State Museum
Sunday,
October 27, 1996Ñ3:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
Evolving Landscapes: Canal Communities
in New York State
The Erie Canal has been a work in progress. Along with a network
of lateral canals, it has been rebuilt several times to adjust to changing
economic and social needs. For each of these rebuildings, the canal
was redesigned with new technologies and attitudes. Communities on and
alongside the canal influenced and adapted to these changes. Evidence
of this evolution can still be seen on the landscape.
Craig Williams, History Curator, New York State Museum; Member, Canal Society of New York State
Wednesday,
October 30, 1996Ñ8:00 p.m.
PAC Recital Hall
Archeological Excavations at the
Site of Fort Orange in Albany
This talk will be an illustrated slide talk explaining the history
of Fort Orange, how the site was rediscovered in October 1970, and what
was discovered during archeological rescue excavations at the site,
located in the path of I-787 construction, during the winter of 1970-1971.
Many of the artifacts that were found are presently on display at Crailo
State Historic Site in Rensselaer. Fort Orange was built by the Dutch
West India Company in 1624, taken by the English in 1664, and abandoned
in 1676.
Paul Huey, Scientist (Archeology), Bureau of Historic Sites, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Sunday, November
3, 1996Ñ3:00 p.m. PAC
Main Theater
Painting Four Hundred Years of New
York State History
The artist will discuss the major works that are being exhibited
at the museum in Visions of New York State: The Historical Paintings
of L.F. Tantillo. They will be presented in historical, chronological
order, beginning with Native American subjects and ending in the mid-twentieth
century.
Leonard F. Tantillo, Artist