Norman S. Rice Memorial Lecture | It’s All in the Details: Furniture of the Empire State 1680-1980

Free with museum admission

Join us for a special lecture in anticipation of the new edition of John L. Scherer’s book New York Furniture at the New York State Museum. Drawing from the museum’s extensive collection of labeled and documented furniture, this talk will shed new light on the evolution of cabinetmaking in New York State and the styles that shaped the lives of New Yorkers for over three centuries.

The presentation will highlight furniture from every region and period, from the refined creations of New York City craftsmen like Duncan Phyfe to the vernacular traditions of rural Upstate makers. Audiences will journey from the furniture of early Dutch New York through the Arts and Crafts designs of Roycroft and Gustav Stickley.

 

In addition to a survey of the New York State Museum’s holdings, select examples from the Albany Institute’s collection will be featured during the lecture to illustrate construction, materials, and techniques, including a remarkable Van Rensselaer family side chair.

Image: Side Chair, unidentified maker, New York City, c.1765. Mahogany and sweet gum with reproduction silk upholstery. Albany Institute of History & Art, gift of Emily Watkinson Rankin and Edward Elmendorf Rankin, in memory of their mother, Catherine Bogart Putnam Rankin, 1955.56.

About the Speaker

Historian for the Town of Clifton Park, New York and Senior Historian Emeritus for the New York State Museum, John L. Scherer has a B.A. in History from the State University of New York at Albany and a M.A in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.  He has published numerous books and articles on local history, genealogy, New York decorative arts and popular entertainment and lectures widely on those subjects.  For a number of years he taught a graduate course on material culture studies at the University at Albany, New York.  Scherer has served as an officer in a number of professional organizations and friends groups including the Association of Public Historians of New York State.

The Norman S. Rice Memorial Lecture series honors Norman’s legacy of collecting, preservation, and scholarship, and continues his commitment to sharing the richness of New York’s cultural heritage with the public.

Norman S. Rice was an integral part of the Albany Institute of History & Art and the Albany cultural community for nearly 70 years. Beginning with his arrival as curator in 1953, and through his 19-year tenure as director, Norman devoted his time and expertise to the growth and national recognition of the Institute. Even after he retired in 1986 and was granted the title of Director Emeritus, Norman continued to be an advocate for the Institute until he passed away in 2021. Many of the great treasures that visitors and researchers to the Albany Institute enjoy and appreciate today came to us through Norman’s diligent and unstinting efforts.

Over the decades, Norman visited countless private collections and guided several important donations to the Institute. He attended numerous auctions, explored galleries and shops, and donated many exceptional treasures himself, all to enrich the museum’s holdings.

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