Programs and Special Events Planned for YOUNG AMERICA at AIHA

The Albany Institute of History & Art has planned a variety of public programs and events for visitors of all ages to accompany the exhibition, YOUNG AMERICA: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which will be on view at the Albany Institute from March 16 through May 19, 2002.  YOUNG AMERICA features more than 50 paintings and sculpture that trace the transformation of the colonies into nationhood between 1760s and the Civil War. Included are works by John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Thomas Cole and Hiram Powers.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Saturday, March 16, 7:00 - 11:00 pm; for tickets, call 518-463-4478

Prelude Gala 2002 -- Celebrate a very special exhibition, YOUNG AMERICA: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with a formal reception that will highlight four Colonial epicurean centers (New England, Colonial New York, Mid-Atlantic and Southern)

and abundant amusements from the 18^th century—visit the Rice Arms Tavern, have your silhouette cut, listen to a glass “armonica”, a harpsichord or the Celtic harp, amaze at the anecdotes of an 18^th century doctor or the trickery of an 18^th century magician.

Sunday, March 17, 2:30pm; FREE with admission

Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AmericA

Wednesday, March 20, 12:10pm; FREE with admission

Lunchtime Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AmericA

Wednesday, March 20; 4:30-7:30pm; $25.00 per educator

Educators Workshop - “Young America” - Please call the Museum Education Department at 518.463.4478 for more information and to make reservations.

Sunday, March 31, 2:30pm; FREE with admission

Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AmericA

APRIL 2002

Wednesday, April 3, 5:30 pm (reception), 6:30 pm (lecture); FREE-AIHA members, $10 non-members, $12 at the door. RSVP strongly encouraged (518.463.5502 x470)

Reception – Join the Albany Institute for a Special Reception in celebration of YOUNG AMERICA: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Rice Gallery exhibition the JOURNEY.

Lecture – “James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans: Literature and History in American Letters” by Michael J. Pikus, Assistant Professor of English, Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, NY  In this presentation, Michael Pikus leads the audience through a close reading of The Last of the Mohicans (1826), focusing on: confrontation of the New World; American cultural identity; the “captivity narrative”; the image of Native Americans and related issues of race and diversity; nature and the environment; chaos and order; and the important influence of the Natty Bumppo character.  This program is supported by the Speakers in the Humanities, New York Council for the Humanities.

Saturday, April 13; 11:00am; FREE with admission

Lecture – “Large Sales and Small Profits: John Rogers' Sculptures for Middle-Class Americans” by Michael Clapper, Assistant Professor of Art History, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY  John Rogers sold approximately 80,000 of his plaster sculpture groups in the late nineteenth century, making him arguably the most popular sculptor in American history. The artist deliberately sought a broad audience from the outset, adopting the motto "Large sales and small profits." Rogers best-selling subjects, such as a young couple "Coming to the Parson" (1870), tell engaging stories of idealized everyday life. The lecture will consider Rogers' work in relation to the cultural values of the time and the effects of industrialization on art.

Sunday, April 14, 2:30pm; FREE with admission

Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AmericA

Sunday, April 21, 2:00pm; FREE with admission

Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AmericA

Wednesday, April 24, 12:10pm; FREE with admission

Lunchtime Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of Young America

Wednesday, May 15, 12:10pm; FREE with admission

Lunchtime Gallery Talk -- Enjoy a 45-minute tour of YOUNG AMERICA

Friday, May 17; 5:00pm (meeting), 6:30pm (lecture)

Annual Meeting – For Members only, join us for a recap of 2001 and the election of new board members.  RSVP required. Please call the reservation line (518.463.5502 x470)

Lecture – Open to the Public; FREE with admission

“Young America” by George Gurney, Deputy Chief Curator, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.  As one of the curators who organized the exhibition Young America, George Gurney’s slide lecture will review the major themes and artists.   Included will be paintings and sculpture that trace the transformation of the colonies into nationhood between 1760s and the Civil War.