In the

     Garden

                                     Through August 22, 2004

On exhibition at the Albany Institute of History & Art through August 22, 2004, IN THE GARDEN features examples of ceramics, paintings, photographs, textiles, sculpture, costumes and accessories (shoes, jewelry, buttons...) drawn from the museum's permanent collection -- all featuring flowers, fruit, vegetables or garden visitors as decorative elements.

Artists have captured the beauty of gardens on canvas for centuries; flowers have been used as decorative elements since Roman times.  In the eighteenth century, interiors and costumes featured lush greenery and voluptuous blooms regardless of season. Victorian Americans turned gardening into a leisure activity.  The nineteenth century love of gardens and all that was grown in them inspired countless ladies to ply their needle and unearth their craft skills to create domestic accessories with floral motifs. 

 “Gardens were planted for public or private enjoyment,” commented Diane Shewchuk, AIHA Registrar.  “Their arbors hide secret lovers; their foliage serves as a playground for mythical fairies; their fruits and vegetables evoke flavors of passing seasons; their colors, shapes and textures are the artist’s muse.”

Flowers were prolific; you dined on them, sat on them, wore them and even ate their candied blooms.  Fruits grown in the garden have graced dining tables as a feast for the craftsman’s eye as well as part of the repast.  Whether from a child’s perspective or from a gardener’s, the adventures of mythical creatures or unwelcome animal visitors could be seen as a nuisance or a blessing.

Complementary programming includes August’s First Thursday (August 5), which features a special presentation with Albany’s City Gardener Judy Stacey.  For more information, call 518.463.4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.