January-February - Boston Athenæum

COLLECTIONS CORNER
PETITE FEET
A Concert in Celebration
of Artist Allan Rohan Crite
Recently Acquired
NOW ON VIEW
The Athenæum recently acquired Interior with Figure, Antwerp by
Otto Grundmann. Grundmann, who had his earliest artistic training in
his native Dresden, came to America in 1876 to accept the directorship
of the new School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He served
in that role, and as a highly respected teacher, until his death in 1890.
He specialized in genre painting (scenes of everyday life) in the
tradition of seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Vermeer.
This recent acquisition, the first painting by this important Boston
artist to enter the Athenæum’s collection, is in every way
characteristic of his work. The painting can be viewed in the
sitting room off the hallway leading to the Children’s Library.
DOWN IN THE DUMPS
NEWS YOU CAN USE
In Athenæum jargon, the “dump” refers to the
re-shelving area on every floor. Members in
the know have been perusing these shelves
for years. Can’t make it into the building for
this serendipitous search? Don’t fret. View our
weekly list on the “Book Recommendations”
page under the “Library” tab of the website for
these Reader to Reader Recommendations.
IMAGING STUDIO In celebration of the relocation of the Imaging
Studio (formerly called the Digital Lab) to the second floor of 10½
Beacon Street, Patricia Boulos, Head of Digital Programs, and her team
will host informal, drop-in open studio sessions on Tuesday, January
19, from 1:30-4:30 pm and Wednesday, January 20, from 4-6 pm. All
members are encouraged to stop by and learn more about the Imaging
Studio, where colleagues create the online images that bring our rarest
collections before the world. As visitors will learn, the new studio
offers optimal climate and security controls, and ideal proximity to
rare materials storerooms.
Reader to Reader Recs
Recent titles found down
in the dumps, include:
Walker, Alice foreword
and illustration by Shiloh
McCloud. Hard Times
Require Furious Dancing:
New Poems, Library of
Congress Classification
PS3573.A425 H37 2010
IN THE GALLERIES
Collecting for the Boston Athenæum in the 21st
Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans brings together
an exquisite selection of materials from the
institution’s rich cartographic collection. The
third in a series, the exhibition celebrates the
Athenæum’s robust acquisitions program and
showcases more than 50 objects that have been
added to the collection since the year 2000.
GALLERY TALKS with Curator of Maps
John Lannon are limited to 15 participants.
Wednesday, January 13, 11 am-12 pm
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
Wednesday, February 10, 2-3 pm
Registration begins January 27 at 9 am
M F
PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE CHECKLIST For the first time
ever, complete illustrated checklists of the Athenæum’s collections
of paintings and sculpture are available online — a first step towards
our long-term goal of making a searchable online catalogue available
to members and researchers around the world. The art lists appear in a
sidebar on the “Paintings & Sculpture” page under the “Collections”
tab of the website.
ART PERIODICALS The organization of art periodicals is complete!
Readers will find their favorites in an attractive, well-organized, and
freshly painted space outside the Upper Pilgrim elevator, just steps
from their former location in the art reference section.
PHONE BOOTHS Looking for a place to sneak away to make a phone
call? Try out our vintage phone booths repurposed as mobile phone use
stations that have been installed in the hallway leading to the Children’s
Library. Phone calls can also be placed in the vestibule of the building.
Talking on mobile phones is prohibited elsewhere in the building, and
on the terraces.
NEW FACES The Athenæum is pleased to welcome the following
colleagues: Alyssa Garcia, Development Intern, and Graham Skinner,
Cataloging Assistant (formerly a Digital Programs Intern).
www.bostonathenaeum.org
Concert with jazz ensemble Petite Feet
Tuesday, February 23, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 9 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
PICTURING
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
An Illustrated Biography of
the Nineteenth Century’s Most
Photographed American
Book talk with best-selling author
and Harvard University Professor
of English and African American
Studies John Stauffer
Monday, February 22, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 8 at 9 am
M R Members $15
Prolific Boston artist Allan Rohan Crite
created an extensive body of work featuring
the daily life of ordinary African Americans.
In celebration of his work, and in collaboration with the New England Conservatory’s
Community Performances and Partnerships
Program, the Boston Athenæum is proud to
present jazz ensemble Petite Feet. Petite Feet
will respond musically to a selection of Crite’s
works from the Athenæum’s collection.
View a selection of Crite’s watercolors and
drawings online, and see his paintings
on view in the Bornheimer Room and
Membership Office.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency.
VOICES BEYOND
BONDAGE
An Anthology of Verse
by African Americans
of the 19th Century
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016
Book talk with literary scholars
Erika DeSimone and Fidel Louis
Thursday, February 25, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 11 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-Members $15
Voices Beyond Bondage: An Anthology of
Verse by African Americans of the 19th
Century is a collection of 150 poems culled
from burgeoning black-owned newspapers
of the era, and offers a fresh perspective on
African-American life and identity. These
poems are penned mostly by everyday people
compelled to write—despite being born into a
world of fundamental inequity. Whether these
authors were formally schooled or self-taught,
whether they were slaves, free people, or the
descendants of slaves, African Americans put
ink to paper and declared their passions in
verse. Until now, these poems—and an entire
literary movement—were lost to modern
readers.
Can’t get enough poetry? Discover the poetry
of Phillis Wheatley, the first Black poet in
America to publish a book, in the Athenæum’s
circulating and special collections.
In this talk, John Stauffer will share with us
excerpts and images from Picturing Frederick
Douglass, a work that promises to revolutionize our knowledge of race and photography
in 19th-century America. Stauffer will paint
a picture of Frederick Douglass as a leading
pioneer in photography, both as a stately
subject and as a prescient theorist who
believed in the explosive social power of
what was then just a nascent art form.
BOSTON ATHENÆUM
PROPRIETORS’ ANNUAL
MEETING
Tuesday, February 16, 3:45 pm M R F
THE RACE for THE WHITE HOUSE in 2016
The New Hampshire Primary and Beyond
A panel discussion with The Boston Globe political reporters Shira T. Center,
Akilah Johnson, Annie Linskey, Jim O’Sullivan, James Pindell, and Matthew Viser
Thursday, January 21, 6-7 pm, Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont Street, Boston
M F R Registration begins December 28 at 9 am
Political reporters from The Boston Globe will discuss one of the most unpredictable presidential
races in a generation. Just days before Iowa and New Hampshire voters make their picks for the
presidential nominees, top political journalists from the Pulitzer-prize winning news organization
will convene for a panel on the campaigns they have been covering for the last year. Who will win
the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary? Will the victors be the eventual nominees?
And how will this influence who wins the White House in 2016?
Are you a
POLITICAL
HISTORY
JUNKIE?
Check out our collection
of 19th-century political
ballots, available in the
Digital Collections
section of our website.
Proprietors will receive an email or paper invitation.
Proprietors of the Boston Athenæum are invited to
the 2016 Annual Meeting. A reception will follow.
Guests are welcome to join the reception. For more
information, please contact Catherine McGrath at
617-720-7661 or mcgrath@bostonathenaeum.org.
Interested in viewing some of Stauffer’s
primary source materials first-hand? Make
an appointment to view our 1865 Merrill &
Crosby photograph of Frederick Douglass.
CLEMENS TEUFEL
A classical piano concert featuring the works of Gershwin and Hanson
Sunday, February 28, 1-2 pm
Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-Members $30
In his solo debut concert, Clemens Teufel will feature the colorful compositions of neo-romantic
master composer, Hanson, and the swing and glamour of the all-time favorite, Gershwin. Born in
Frankfurt, Germany, Clemens Teufel received his first piano lessons at the age of seven. Described
as “Red-hot German Pianist” by the Cape Ann Beacon and commended for “incredibly sensitive
playing” by the Weilheimer Tagblatt, Teufel started his education at the University Franz Liszt in
Weimar and completed his studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in
the masterclass of Professor Lev Natochenny.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“The horizon leans forward, Offering you space to place new steps of change.”
Maya Angelou (from The Rock Cries Out Today)
Happy New Year! At the Athenæum, 2016 offers fresh expanses for the intellect
and the imagination. A panel of Boston Globe journalists will assess the
presidential primaries; an MFA curator will reinterpret a beloved masterpiece;
a geographer-neuroscientist will consider mapping in the age of GPS; a Harper
Lee scholar will discuss Go Set a Watchman; a jazz ensemble will pay tribute
to the visual art of Allan Rohan Crite; our digital team will welcome members
to their new lab; and anthology editors will read poems by 19th-century
African-Americans.
The exhibition of Maps, Charts, & Plans is complemented by a new presentation
in the Sitting Room. Washington Allston paintings enliven the Children’s Library
corridor, and portrait miniatures appear in the Art Department. At times when
winter weather complicates a visit, our website offers a respite from cabin fever.
From event recordings to electronic resources—which now include Oxford Music
Online—to complete illustrated checklists of the art collection, there’s always
something new to discover.
Elizabeth E. Barker, Ph.D.
Stanford Calderwood Director
GLIMPSED
AT 1 0 ½
During last month’s “Eye of the Expert:
An Evening of Mystery and Mayhem”
program, Stanley Ellis Cushing,
Anne C. and David J. Bromer Curator
of Rare Books and Manuscripts,
discusses a print of the front elevation
of the Massachusetts State Prison in
Charlestown where James Allen (alias
George Walton), the highwayman of
the BA’s infamous “Skin Book,” died.
COLLECTIONS CORNER
PETITE FEET
A Concert in Celebration
of Artist Allan Rohan Crite
Recently Acquired
NOW ON VIEW
The Athenæum recently acquired Interior with Figure, Antwerp by
Otto Grundmann. Grundmann, who had his earliest artistic training in
his native Dresden, came to America in 1876 to accept the directorship
of the new School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He served
in that role, and as a highly respected teacher, until his death in 1890.
He specialized in genre painting (scenes of everyday life) in the
tradition of seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Vermeer.
This recent acquisition, the first painting by this important Boston
artist to enter the Athenæum’s collection, is in every way
characteristic of his work. The painting can be viewed in the
sitting room off the hallway leading to the Children’s Library.
DOWN IN THE DUMPS
NEWS YOU CAN USE
In Athenæum jargon, the “dump” refers to the
re-shelving area on every floor. Members in
the know have been perusing these shelves
for years. Can’t make it into the building for
this serendipitous search? Don’t fret. View our
weekly list on the “Book Recommendations”
page under the “Library” tab of the website for
these Reader to Reader Recommendations.
IMAGING STUDIO In celebration of the relocation of the Imaging
Studio (formerly called the Digital Lab) to the second floor of 10½
Beacon Street, Patricia Boulos, Head of Digital Programs, and her team
will host informal, drop-in open studio sessions on Tuesday, January
19, from 1:30-4:30 pm and Wednesday, January 20, from 4-6 pm. All
members are encouraged to stop by and learn more about the Imaging
Studio, where colleagues create the online images that bring our rarest
collections before the world. As visitors will learn, the new studio
offers optimal climate and security controls, and ideal proximity to
rare materials storerooms.
Reader to Reader Recs
Recent titles found down
in the dumps, include:
Walker, Alice foreword
and illustration by Shiloh
McCloud. Hard Times
Require Furious Dancing:
New Poems, Library of
Congress Classification
PS3573.A425 H37 2010
IN THE GALLERIES
Collecting for the Boston Athenæum in the 21st
Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans brings together
an exquisite selection of materials from the
institution’s rich cartographic collection. The
third in a series, the exhibition celebrates the
Athenæum’s robust acquisitions program and
showcases more than 50 objects that have been
added to the collection since the year 2000.
GALLERY TALKS with Curator of Maps
John Lannon are limited to 15 participants.
Wednesday, January 13, 11 am-12 pm
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
Wednesday, February 10, 2-3 pm
Registration begins January 27 at 9 am
M F
PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE CHECKLIST For the first time
ever, complete illustrated checklists of the Athenæum’s collections
of paintings and sculpture are available online — a first step towards
our long-term goal of making a searchable online catalogue available
to members and researchers around the world. The art lists appear in a
sidebar on the “Paintings & Sculpture” page under the “Collections”
tab of the website.
ART PERIODICALS The organization of art periodicals is complete!
Readers will find their favorites in an attractive, well-organized, and
freshly painted space outside the Upper Pilgrim elevator, just steps
from their former location in the art reference section.
PHONE BOOTHS Looking for a place to sneak away to make a phone
call? Try out our vintage phone booths repurposed as mobile phone use
stations that have been installed in the hallway leading to the Children’s
Library. Phone calls can also be placed in the vestibule of the building.
Talking on mobile phones is prohibited elsewhere in the building, and
on the terraces.
NEW FACES The Athenæum is pleased to welcome the following
colleagues: Alyssa Garcia, Development Intern, and Graham Skinner,
Cataloging Assistant (formerly a Digital Programs Intern).
www.bostonathenaeum.org
Concert with jazz ensemble Petite Feet
Tuesday, February 23, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 9 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
PICTURING
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
An Illustrated Biography of
the Nineteenth Century’s Most
Photographed American
Book talk with best-selling author
and Harvard University Professor
of English and African American
Studies John Stauffer
Monday, February 22, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 8 at 9 am
M R Members $15
Prolific Boston artist Allan Rohan Crite
created an extensive body of work featuring
the daily life of ordinary African Americans.
In celebration of his work, and in collaboration with the New England Conservatory’s
Community Performances and Partnerships
Program, the Boston Athenæum is proud to
present jazz ensemble Petite Feet. Petite Feet
will respond musically to a selection of Crite’s
works from the Athenæum’s collection.
View a selection of Crite’s watercolors and
drawings online, and see his paintings
on view in the Bornheimer Room and
Membership Office.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency.
VOICES BEYOND
BONDAGE
An Anthology of Verse
by African Americans
of the 19th Century
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016
Book talk with literary scholars
Erika DeSimone and Fidel Louis
Thursday, February 25, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 11 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-Members $15
Voices Beyond Bondage: An Anthology of
Verse by African Americans of the 19th
Century is a collection of 150 poems culled
from burgeoning black-owned newspapers
of the era, and offers a fresh perspective on
African-American life and identity. These
poems are penned mostly by everyday people
compelled to write—despite being born into a
world of fundamental inequity. Whether these
authors were formally schooled or self-taught,
whether they were slaves, free people, or the
descendants of slaves, African Americans put
ink to paper and declared their passions in
verse. Until now, these poems—and an entire
literary movement—were lost to modern
readers.
Can’t get enough poetry? Discover the poetry
of Phillis Wheatley, the first Black poet in
America to publish a book, in the Athenæum’s
circulating and special collections.
In this talk, John Stauffer will share with us
excerpts and images from Picturing Frederick
Douglass, a work that promises to revolutionize our knowledge of race and photography
in 19th-century America. Stauffer will paint
a picture of Frederick Douglass as a leading
pioneer in photography, both as a stately
subject and as a prescient theorist who
believed in the explosive social power of
what was then just a nascent art form.
BOSTON ATHENÆUM
PROPRIETORS’ ANNUAL
MEETING
Tuesday, February 16, 3:45 pm M R F
THE RACE for THE WHITE HOUSE in 2016
The New Hampshire Primary and Beyond
A panel discussion with The Boston Globe political reporters Shira T. Center,
Akilah Johnson, Annie Linskey, Jim O’Sullivan, James Pindell, and Matthew Viser
Thursday, January 21, 6-7 pm, Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont Street, Boston
M F R Registration begins December 28 at 9 am
Political reporters from The Boston Globe will discuss one of the most unpredictable presidential
races in a generation. Just days before Iowa and New Hampshire voters make their picks for the
presidential nominees, top political journalists from the Pulitzer-prize winning news organization
will convene for a panel on the campaigns they have been covering for the last year. Who will win
the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary? Will the victors be the eventual nominees?
And how will this influence who wins the White House in 2016?
Are you a
POLITICAL
HISTORY
JUNKIE?
Check out our collection
of 19th-century political
ballots, available in the
Digital Collections
section of our website.
Proprietors will receive an email or paper invitation.
Proprietors of the Boston Athenæum are invited to
the 2016 Annual Meeting. A reception will follow.
Guests are welcome to join the reception. For more
information, please contact Catherine McGrath at
617-720-7661 or mcgrath@bostonathenaeum.org.
Interested in viewing some of Stauffer’s
primary source materials first-hand? Make
an appointment to view our 1865 Merrill &
Crosby photograph of Frederick Douglass.
CLEMENS TEUFEL
A classical piano concert featuring the works of Gershwin and Hanson
Sunday, February 28, 1-2 pm
Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-Members $30
In his solo debut concert, Clemens Teufel will feature the colorful compositions of neo-romantic
master composer, Hanson, and the swing and glamour of the all-time favorite, Gershwin. Born in
Frankfurt, Germany, Clemens Teufel received his first piano lessons at the age of seven. Described
as “Red-hot German Pianist” by the Cape Ann Beacon and commended for “incredibly sensitive
playing” by the Weilheimer Tagblatt, Teufel started his education at the University Franz Liszt in
Weimar and completed his studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in
the masterclass of Professor Lev Natochenny.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“The horizon leans forward, Offering you space to place new steps of change.”
Maya Angelou (from The Rock Cries Out Today)
Happy New Year! At the Athenæum, 2016 offers fresh expanses for the intellect
and the imagination. A panel of Boston Globe journalists will assess the
presidential primaries; an MFA curator will reinterpret a beloved masterpiece;
a geographer-neuroscientist will consider mapping in the age of GPS; a Harper
Lee scholar will discuss Go Set a Watchman; a jazz ensemble will pay tribute
to the visual art of Allan Rohan Crite; our digital team will welcome members
to their new lab; and anthology editors will read poems by 19th-century
African-Americans.
The exhibition of Maps, Charts, & Plans is complemented by a new presentation
in the Sitting Room. Washington Allston paintings enliven the Children’s Library
corridor, and portrait miniatures appear in the Art Department. At times when
winter weather complicates a visit, our website offers a respite from cabin fever.
From event recordings to electronic resources—which now include Oxford Music
Online—to complete illustrated checklists of the art collection, there’s always
something new to discover.
Elizabeth E. Barker, Ph.D.
Stanford Calderwood Director
GLIMPSED
AT 1 0 ½
During last month’s “Eye of the Expert:
An Evening of Mystery and Mayhem”
program, Stanley Ellis Cushing,
Anne C. and David J. Bromer Curator
of Rare Books and Manuscripts,
discusses a print of the front elevation
of the Massachusetts State Prison in
Charlestown where James Allen (alias
George Walton), the highwayman of
the BA’s infamous “Skin Book,” died.
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
HAPPY
2016 NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, January 13, 5:30 pm (reception),
6:30 pm (showing)
All attendees must be 21+
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
M $35
Join us for a viewing of the 1956 musical
comedy High Society (Metro-GoldwynMayer), a film directed by Charles Walters
and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and
Frank Sinatra. Theater snacks and light fare
will be served with gin and vodka martinis.
Do you just love show tunes? Award-winning
composer Cole Porter wrote the musical score
for High Society, including “True Love” sung
by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Make an
appointment to view vocal and piano sheet
music for seven of the songs from the film
in the Athenæum’s collection.
CHILDE HASSAM
At Dusk: Boston Common at Twilight
Book talk with curator and scholar Erica Hirshler
Tuesday, January 19, 12-1 pm
Panel discussion moderated by
associate professor of Art History
at MIT, Kristel Smentek
New members will receive an email or paper
invitation, and must RSVP by February 2.
Shifting trends in American taste are, in part,
a product of cultural exchanges between the
East and West over time. Examples of such
exchanges include the journeys of Venetian
painters to the Turkish court and the cultural
conflicts of our world since 9/11. The meeting
of Eastern and Western art is more than a
synthesis; it is a process in which civilizations
stimulate and enrich each other.
P F No Reservations required
In this talk, the Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Erica E. Hirshler, will share excerpts of her vivid account of one of Boston’s bestloved paintings: Childe Hassam’s At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight), 1880. With its rosy
rust tones, intimate familial vignette, and quiet expanse of snow-laden park, today At Dusk
seems to encourage reflection and represent a decidedly old-fashioned city. Yet Hirshler will
reveal the ways in which the painting visually signaled the emerging modern city, from
subtleties about women’s place in the urban landscape to the uproarious clang of the streetcars
that would have been heard on the busiest block in Boston. She will discuss her carefully
researched and elegantly presented book, which offers fresh insights into a beloved painting
and an evocative glimpse of a singular moment in Boston’s history.
Lecture by Boston University Earth and Environment Professor Suchi Gopal
Wednesday, January 20, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 6 at 9 am
M Members only
P Open to the public
R Reception to follow
F Free event
W Wait list
}
Please
join us.
P R Members Free Non-members $15
We are witnessing a revolution in mapping, fueled by advances in geospatial technologies such as
GIS (Geographic Information Science), remote sensing, high resolution imagery, web mapping,
crowd sourced data, and apps. These technologies are enabling us to capture, process, store, and
analyze spatial data as never before. High resolution mapping enables users to visualize museums,
homes, and buildings. New apps such as Waze can provide real-time traffic data, help users find
their friend’s location, or personalize trips. Maps have become ubiquitous in our lives, constantly
updated and produced by users, not just experts. Gopal’s lecture will focus on the applications of
these technologies in her work, the nature of spatial data, and the future of mapping.
Are you a map enthusiast? View our current exhibition, Collecting for the Boston Athenæum
in the 21st Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans, on view through February 28.
www.bostonathenaeum.org
This panel will offer perspectives on
Western and Asian artists’ influences from
the 17th through the 20th centuries and show
how the study of artistic interpretation has
significantly influenced the aims and ideals
of these artists.
Join us for this compelling panel featuring
Dennis Carr of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston; Vivian Li of the Worcester Art
Museum (WAM); Rachel M. Saunders of
the Harvard Art Museums; and Daisy Yiyou
Wang of the Peabody Essex Museum.
AFTERNOON
FEBRUARY is African-American History Month
Celebrate. Read. Learn.
Tuesday, February 9, 5:30-7 pm
This wine-and-cheese reception offers new
members an opportunity to meet expert
employees and like-minded fellow members
of our energetic, intellectually curious
community and explore our labyrinthine
building during a playful scavenger hunt.
As with all events, guests are welcome!
PROJECT PUFFIN
The Improbable Quest to Bring a
Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock
Book talk with renowned seabird
conservationist Stephen W. Kress
and associate editor of The Boston
Globe Derrick Z. Jackson
Thursday, February 4, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
Another viewpoint? Frank Duveneck’s painting, The Boston Common (1890, oil on canvas,
UR308), offers an intriguing counterpoint to Hassam’s parkscape. Find it above the computer
catalog near the circulation desk.
MAPPING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Maps, Apps, Tools, and Beyond
M E M B E R S ’
RECEPTION
Tuesday, January 26, 6-7:30 pm
Registration begins January 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
MARTINI MOVIE NIGHT
Young Patrons Sponsored
Viewing of High Society
N E W
BRIDGING THE GAP
The Meeting of Eastern
and Western Art
In this talk, Stephen Kress, or “The Puffin
Man,” and notable journalist and nature
photographer Derrick Jackson will share
with audience members the inspiring story
of Project Puffin, which has restored more
than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands,
where they had been wiped out and
nonexistent for more than 100 years. Kress
and Jackson will share techniques that were
developed during the project and have since
been used to help restore rare and endangered
seabirds worldwide. Further, they will
demonstrate how reestablished puffins now
serve as a window onto the effects of global
warming. The success of the project offers
hope that people can restore lost wildlife
populations and the habitats that support them.
Ready to go birdwatching?
Make an appointment to view John James
Audubon’s Ornithological Biography: An
Account of the Habits of the Birds of the
United States of America.
TEA
Thursday, February 11, 3-4:30 pm
Registration begins January 28, at 9 am
M $75. 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
A time-honored Athenæum tradition, complete with
delicate finger sandwiches, scrumptious scones
with clotted cream and jam, delectable sweet cakes,
savory tarts, and a selection of freshly-brewed teas.
dee da yu
la
m!
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD,
GO SET A WATCHMAN
And the “Discovery” of Racism
Lecture by Boston University English
Professor John T. Matthews
Wednesday, February 3, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 20 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
To Kill a Mockingbird is among the most cherished
coming-of-age stories in American literary culture,
and its portrait of the noble Atticus Finch, a lawyer
who risks everything to defend a black man falsely
accused of a crime in the segregated South of the
1930s, has inspired generations of admirers. For
all its defense of such fundamental democratic
principles, however, Mockingbird also has been
criticized for its narrowing of questions of racial
justice to a drama of white conscience, of historical
change to a matter of individual attitude.
Harper Lee took several years to revise the original
draft of the novel that eventually appeared as
To Kill a Mockingbird. Her original manuscript,
entitled “Go Set a Watchman,” was known to
exist, but only recently did the author agree to its
publication after it was rediscovered in her papers.
In this lecture, John T. Matthews will discuss
with audience members how this “new” work
alters our understanding of what Lee wanted to
say about the racial crisis in the South during the
decades of the modern civil rights movement.
Curious about this period in American history?
Make an appointment to view handouts from
1960s Boston, advocating for civil rights of
African-American citizens living in the Southern
United States.
THE ILLEGAL
A Novel
Book talk with
internationally
best-selling author
Lawrence Hill
Wednesday, February
10, 6-7 pm
Registration begins
January 27 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-members $15
The Illegal is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a
refugee―like the many in today’s headlines―
compelled to leave his homeland. All Keita has
ever wanted to do is to run. Running means
respect and wealth at home. His native
Zantoroland, an imagined country whose tyrants
are eerily familiar, turns out the fastest marathoners
on earth. But after his journalist father is killed for
his outspoken political views, Keita must flee to the
wealthy nation of Freedom State―a fictionalized
country engaged in a crackdown on all
undocumented people, bearing a striking
resemblance to modern America. There, Keita
becomes a part of the new underground. He
learns what it means to live as an illegal. This
tension-filled novel casts its eye on race, human
potential, and what it means to belong.
BEYOND FREEDOM’S REACH
A Kidnapping in the Twilight
of Slavery
Book talk with Civil War expert and
Georgetown University Professor
Adam Rothman
Wednesday, February 17, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
In this talk, Adam Rothman will share excerpts
from Beyond Freedom’s Reach, the true story of
one woman’s quest to rescue her children from
bondage. In the gripping, meticulously researched
account, Adam Rothman lays bare the mayhem of
emancipation during and after the Civil War. After
Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, the
slave-owning De Harts fled to Havana, taking Rose
Herera’s three children with them. When Mary De
Hart returned to New Orleans in 1865, she was
surprised to find herself taken into custody as a
kidnapper. As Rothman will share, the case of Rose
Herera’s abducted children reveals to the reader
the prospects for and limits of justice that existed
during Reconstruction. In his book and during the
talk, Rothman will offer a poignant reflection on
the tangled politics of slavery and the hazards that
were faced by so many Americans on the hard road
to freedom.
To learn more about this period in American
history, view our extensive Confederate imprint
collection, now digitized and available online
through the generosity of Caleb Loring, Jr.
JUST for KIDS
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC & SLEEPOVER
Saturday, February 27, 11 am-2pm
M F Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
We’re hiring! The Boston Athenæum seeks qualified stuffed animals, action figures, and
dolls to work for one special night in Reference, Circulation, Security, and other library
departments. Human friends are invited to join us for a brown-bag Teddy Bears’ Picnic and
screening of Toy Story before the stuffies, lovies, and toys get to work! Human friends can
pick up their stuffies, lovies, and toys at the Circulation Desk along with pictures of all the
work their stuffed friends completed overnight on Sunday, February 28, from 12-4 pm.
P R E S C H O O L S T O RY T I M E
Tuesdays at 10:30 am
January 5, 12, 19, 26
February 2, 9, 16, 23
M F No reservations required
FA M I LY S T O R Y T I M E
Saturdays at 10:30 am
January 9, 16, 23, 30
February 6, 13, 20, 27
M F No reservations required
STORIES & CRAFTS
FOR AGES 5+
Wednesdays at 3:30 pm
January 6, 13, 20, 27
February 3, 10, 17, 24
M F No reservations required
YOUNG READERS’
BOOK GROUP
Recommended for children aged 9 to 13
Mondays at 6 pm
January 18 and February 22
Register by emailing
warnement@bostonanthenaeum.org
M $3
STORIES, SONGS,
AND ACTIVITIES
Thursdays at 10:30 am
January 7, 14, 21, 28
February 4, 11, 18, 25
M F No reservations required
&
y
r
ste em
y
M ayh
M
LEGO®, CHESS,
& PUZZLE CLUB
Recommended for children aged 5 to 8
Saturdays at 2 pm
January 30 and February 27
M F Register by emailing
omeara@bostonantheneaum.org
OPEN
MONDAY—THURSDAY, 9 am-8 pm
FRIDAY, 9 am-5:30 pm
EYE OF THE EXPERT
SATURDAY, 9 am-4 pm
Thursdays January 7 and February 4, 5:30-7:30 pm
Registration begins at 9 am on December 28 and January 21
Space is limited to 12 participants M R Members $75 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
H O L I D AY C L O S I N G
Back by popular demand! Get up close with artworks and rare materials as members of our expert
staff divulge the fascinating stories behind them, including why they are historically or artistically
important, and how and why they are in the Athenæum’s collections. Each program will be
presented by members of our special collections team, and will be followed by an opportunity to
continue the discussion over wine and light hors d’oeuvres in the Gordon Reading Room.
SUNDAY, 12 pm-4 pm
FRIDAY, January 1
Closed All Day
10½ BEACON STREET
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108
617-227-0270
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
HAPPY
2016 NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, January 13, 5:30 pm (reception),
6:30 pm (showing)
All attendees must be 21+
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
M $35
Join us for a viewing of the 1956 musical
comedy High Society (Metro-GoldwynMayer), a film directed by Charles Walters
and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and
Frank Sinatra. Theater snacks and light fare
will be served with gin and vodka martinis.
Do you just love show tunes? Award-winning
composer Cole Porter wrote the musical score
for High Society, including “True Love” sung
by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Make an
appointment to view vocal and piano sheet
music for seven of the songs from the film
in the Athenæum’s collection.
CHILDE HASSAM
At Dusk: Boston Common at Twilight
Book talk with curator and scholar Erica Hirshler
Tuesday, January 19, 12-1 pm
Panel discussion moderated by
associate professor of Art History
at MIT, Kristel Smentek
New members will receive an email or paper
invitation, and must RSVP by February 2.
Shifting trends in American taste are, in part,
a product of cultural exchanges between the
East and West over time. Examples of such
exchanges include the journeys of Venetian
painters to the Turkish court and the cultural
conflicts of our world since 9/11. The meeting
of Eastern and Western art is more than a
synthesis; it is a process in which civilizations
stimulate and enrich each other.
P F No Reservations required
In this talk, the Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Erica E. Hirshler, will share excerpts of her vivid account of one of Boston’s bestloved paintings: Childe Hassam’s At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight), 1880. With its rosy
rust tones, intimate familial vignette, and quiet expanse of snow-laden park, today At Dusk
seems to encourage reflection and represent a decidedly old-fashioned city. Yet Hirshler will
reveal the ways in which the painting visually signaled the emerging modern city, from
subtleties about women’s place in the urban landscape to the uproarious clang of the streetcars
that would have been heard on the busiest block in Boston. She will discuss her carefully
researched and elegantly presented book, which offers fresh insights into a beloved painting
and an evocative glimpse of a singular moment in Boston’s history.
Lecture by Boston University Earth and Environment Professor Suchi Gopal
Wednesday, January 20, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 6 at 9 am
M Members only
P Open to the public
R Reception to follow
F Free event
W Wait list
}
Please
join us.
P R Members Free Non-members $15
We are witnessing a revolution in mapping, fueled by advances in geospatial technologies such as
GIS (Geographic Information Science), remote sensing, high resolution imagery, web mapping,
crowd sourced data, and apps. These technologies are enabling us to capture, process, store, and
analyze spatial data as never before. High resolution mapping enables users to visualize museums,
homes, and buildings. New apps such as Waze can provide real-time traffic data, help users find
their friend’s location, or personalize trips. Maps have become ubiquitous in our lives, constantly
updated and produced by users, not just experts. Gopal’s lecture will focus on the applications of
these technologies in her work, the nature of spatial data, and the future of mapping.
Are you a map enthusiast? View our current exhibition, Collecting for the Boston Athenæum
in the 21st Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans, on view through February 28.
www.bostonathenaeum.org
This panel will offer perspectives on
Western and Asian artists’ influences from
the 17th through the 20th centuries and show
how the study of artistic interpretation has
significantly influenced the aims and ideals
of these artists.
Join us for this compelling panel featuring
Dennis Carr of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston; Vivian Li of the Worcester Art
Museum (WAM); Rachel M. Saunders of
the Harvard Art Museums; and Daisy Yiyou
Wang of the Peabody Essex Museum.
AFTERNOON
FEBRUARY is African-American History Month
Celebrate. Read. Learn.
Tuesday, February 9, 5:30-7 pm
This wine-and-cheese reception offers new
members an opportunity to meet expert
employees and like-minded fellow members
of our energetic, intellectually curious
community and explore our labyrinthine
building during a playful scavenger hunt.
As with all events, guests are welcome!
PROJECT PUFFIN
The Improbable Quest to Bring a
Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock
Book talk with renowned seabird
conservationist Stephen W. Kress
and associate editor of The Boston
Globe Derrick Z. Jackson
Thursday, February 4, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
Another viewpoint? Frank Duveneck’s painting, The Boston Common (1890, oil on canvas,
UR308), offers an intriguing counterpoint to Hassam’s parkscape. Find it above the computer
catalog near the circulation desk.
MAPPING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Maps, Apps, Tools, and Beyond
M E M B E R S ’
RECEPTION
Tuesday, January 26, 6-7:30 pm
Registration begins January 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
MARTINI MOVIE NIGHT
Young Patrons Sponsored
Viewing of High Society
N E W
BRIDGING THE GAP
The Meeting of Eastern
and Western Art
In this talk, Stephen Kress, or “The Puffin
Man,” and notable journalist and nature
photographer Derrick Jackson will share
with audience members the inspiring story
of Project Puffin, which has restored more
than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands,
where they had been wiped out and
nonexistent for more than 100 years. Kress
and Jackson will share techniques that were
developed during the project and have since
been used to help restore rare and endangered
seabirds worldwide. Further, they will
demonstrate how reestablished puffins now
serve as a window onto the effects of global
warming. The success of the project offers
hope that people can restore lost wildlife
populations and the habitats that support them.
Ready to go birdwatching?
Make an appointment to view John James
Audubon’s Ornithological Biography: An
Account of the Habits of the Birds of the
United States of America.
TEA
Thursday, February 11, 3-4:30 pm
Registration begins January 28, at 9 am
M $75. 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
A time-honored Athenæum tradition, complete with
delicate finger sandwiches, scrumptious scones
with clotted cream and jam, delectable sweet cakes,
savory tarts, and a selection of freshly-brewed teas.
dee da yu
la
m!
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD,
GO SET A WATCHMAN
And the “Discovery” of Racism
Lecture by Boston University English
Professor John T. Matthews
Wednesday, February 3, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 20 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
To Kill a Mockingbird is among the most cherished
coming-of-age stories in American literary culture,
and its portrait of the noble Atticus Finch, a lawyer
who risks everything to defend a black man falsely
accused of a crime in the segregated South of the
1930s, has inspired generations of admirers. For
all its defense of such fundamental democratic
principles, however, Mockingbird also has been
criticized for its narrowing of questions of racial
justice to a drama of white conscience, of historical
change to a matter of individual attitude.
Harper Lee took several years to revise the original
draft of the novel that eventually appeared as
To Kill a Mockingbird. Her original manuscript,
entitled “Go Set a Watchman,” was known to
exist, but only recently did the author agree to its
publication after it was rediscovered in her papers.
In this lecture, John T. Matthews will discuss
with audience members how this “new” work
alters our understanding of what Lee wanted to
say about the racial crisis in the South during the
decades of the modern civil rights movement.
Curious about this period in American history?
Make an appointment to view handouts from
1960s Boston, advocating for civil rights of
African-American citizens living in the Southern
United States.
THE ILLEGAL
A Novel
Book talk with
internationally
best-selling author
Lawrence Hill
Wednesday, February
10, 6-7 pm
Registration begins
January 27 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-members $15
The Illegal is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a
refugee―like the many in today’s headlines―
compelled to leave his homeland. All Keita has
ever wanted to do is to run. Running means
respect and wealth at home. His native
Zantoroland, an imagined country whose tyrants
are eerily familiar, turns out the fastest marathoners
on earth. But after his journalist father is killed for
his outspoken political views, Keita must flee to the
wealthy nation of Freedom State―a fictionalized
country engaged in a crackdown on all
undocumented people, bearing a striking
resemblance to modern America. There, Keita
becomes a part of the new underground. He
learns what it means to live as an illegal. This
tension-filled novel casts its eye on race, human
potential, and what it means to belong.
BEYOND FREEDOM’S REACH
A Kidnapping in the Twilight
of Slavery
Book talk with Civil War expert and
Georgetown University Professor
Adam Rothman
Wednesday, February 17, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
In this talk, Adam Rothman will share excerpts
from Beyond Freedom’s Reach, the true story of
one woman’s quest to rescue her children from
bondage. In the gripping, meticulously researched
account, Adam Rothman lays bare the mayhem of
emancipation during and after the Civil War. After
Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, the
slave-owning De Harts fled to Havana, taking Rose
Herera’s three children with them. When Mary De
Hart returned to New Orleans in 1865, she was
surprised to find herself taken into custody as a
kidnapper. As Rothman will share, the case of Rose
Herera’s abducted children reveals to the reader
the prospects for and limits of justice that existed
during Reconstruction. In his book and during the
talk, Rothman will offer a poignant reflection on
the tangled politics of slavery and the hazards that
were faced by so many Americans on the hard road
to freedom.
To learn more about this period in American
history, view our extensive Confederate imprint
collection, now digitized and available online
through the generosity of Caleb Loring, Jr.
JUST for KIDS
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC & SLEEPOVER
Saturday, February 27, 11 am-2pm
M F Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
We’re hiring! The Boston Athenæum seeks qualified stuffed animals, action figures, and
dolls to work for one special night in Reference, Circulation, Security, and other library
departments. Human friends are invited to join us for a brown-bag Teddy Bears’ Picnic and
screening of Toy Story before the stuffies, lovies, and toys get to work! Human friends can
pick up their stuffies, lovies, and toys at the Circulation Desk along with pictures of all the
work their stuffed friends completed overnight on Sunday, February 28, from 12-4 pm.
P R E S C H O O L S T O RY T I M E
Tuesdays at 10:30 am
January 5, 12, 19, 26
February 2, 9, 16, 23
M F No reservations required
FA M I LY S T O R Y T I M E
Saturdays at 10:30 am
January 9, 16, 23, 30
February 6, 13, 20, 27
M F No reservations required
STORIES & CRAFTS
FOR AGES 5+
Wednesdays at 3:30 pm
January 6, 13, 20, 27
February 3, 10, 17, 24
M F No reservations required
YOUNG READERS’
BOOK GROUP
Recommended for children aged 9 to 13
Mondays at 6 pm
January 18 and February 22
Register by emailing
warnement@bostonanthenaeum.org
M $3
STORIES, SONGS,
AND ACTIVITIES
Thursdays at 10:30 am
January 7, 14, 21, 28
February 4, 11, 18, 25
M F No reservations required
&
y
r
ste em
y
M ayh
M
LEGO®, CHESS,
& PUZZLE CLUB
Recommended for children aged 5 to 8
Saturdays at 2 pm
January 30 and February 27
M F Register by emailing
omeara@bostonantheneaum.org
OPEN
MONDAY—THURSDAY, 9 am-8 pm
FRIDAY, 9 am-5:30 pm
EYE OF THE EXPERT
SATURDAY, 9 am-4 pm
Thursdays January 7 and February 4, 5:30-7:30 pm
Registration begins at 9 am on December 28 and January 21
Space is limited to 12 participants M R Members $75 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
H O L I D AY C L O S I N G
Back by popular demand! Get up close with artworks and rare materials as members of our expert
staff divulge the fascinating stories behind them, including why they are historically or artistically
important, and how and why they are in the Athenæum’s collections. Each program will be
presented by members of our special collections team, and will be followed by an opportunity to
continue the discussion over wine and light hors d’oeuvres in the Gordon Reading Room.
SUNDAY, 12 pm-4 pm
FRIDAY, January 1
Closed All Day
10½ BEACON STREET
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108
617-227-0270
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
HAPPY
2016 NEW YEAR!
Wednesday, January 13, 5:30 pm (reception),
6:30 pm (showing)
All attendees must be 21+
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
M $35
Join us for a viewing of the 1956 musical
comedy High Society (Metro-GoldwynMayer), a film directed by Charles Walters
and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and
Frank Sinatra. Theater snacks and light fare
will be served with gin and vodka martinis.
Do you just love show tunes? Award-winning
composer Cole Porter wrote the musical score
for High Society, including “True Love” sung
by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Make an
appointment to view vocal and piano sheet
music for seven of the songs from the film
in the Athenæum’s collection.
CHILDE HASSAM
At Dusk: Boston Common at Twilight
Book talk with curator and scholar Erica Hirshler
Tuesday, January 19, 12-1 pm
Panel discussion moderated by
associate professor of Art History
at MIT, Kristel Smentek
New members will receive an email or paper
invitation, and must RSVP by February 2.
Shifting trends in American taste are, in part,
a product of cultural exchanges between the
East and West over time. Examples of such
exchanges include the journeys of Venetian
painters to the Turkish court and the cultural
conflicts of our world since 9/11. The meeting
of Eastern and Western art is more than a
synthesis; it is a process in which civilizations
stimulate and enrich each other.
P F No Reservations required
In this talk, the Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Erica E. Hirshler, will share excerpts of her vivid account of one of Boston’s bestloved paintings: Childe Hassam’s At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight), 1880. With its rosy
rust tones, intimate familial vignette, and quiet expanse of snow-laden park, today At Dusk
seems to encourage reflection and represent a decidedly old-fashioned city. Yet Hirshler will
reveal the ways in which the painting visually signaled the emerging modern city, from
subtleties about women’s place in the urban landscape to the uproarious clang of the streetcars
that would have been heard on the busiest block in Boston. She will discuss her carefully
researched and elegantly presented book, which offers fresh insights into a beloved painting
and an evocative glimpse of a singular moment in Boston’s history.
Lecture by Boston University Earth and Environment Professor Suchi Gopal
Wednesday, January 20, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 6 at 9 am
M Members only
P Open to the public
R Reception to follow
F Free event
W Wait list
}
Please
join us.
P R Members Free Non-members $15
We are witnessing a revolution in mapping, fueled by advances in geospatial technologies such as
GIS (Geographic Information Science), remote sensing, high resolution imagery, web mapping,
crowd sourced data, and apps. These technologies are enabling us to capture, process, store, and
analyze spatial data as never before. High resolution mapping enables users to visualize museums,
homes, and buildings. New apps such as Waze can provide real-time traffic data, help users find
their friend’s location, or personalize trips. Maps have become ubiquitous in our lives, constantly
updated and produced by users, not just experts. Gopal’s lecture will focus on the applications of
these technologies in her work, the nature of spatial data, and the future of mapping.
Are you a map enthusiast? View our current exhibition, Collecting for the Boston Athenæum
in the 21st Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans, on view through February 28.
www.bostonathenaeum.org
This panel will offer perspectives on
Western and Asian artists’ influences from
the 17th through the 20th centuries and show
how the study of artistic interpretation has
significantly influenced the aims and ideals
of these artists.
Join us for this compelling panel featuring
Dennis Carr of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston; Vivian Li of the Worcester Art
Museum (WAM); Rachel M. Saunders of
the Harvard Art Museums; and Daisy Yiyou
Wang of the Peabody Essex Museum.
AFTERNOON
FEBRUARY is African-American History Month
Celebrate. Read. Learn.
Tuesday, February 9, 5:30-7 pm
This wine-and-cheese reception offers new
members an opportunity to meet expert
employees and like-minded fellow members
of our energetic, intellectually curious
community and explore our labyrinthine
building during a playful scavenger hunt.
As with all events, guests are welcome!
PROJECT PUFFIN
The Improbable Quest to Bring a
Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock
Book talk with renowned seabird
conservationist Stephen W. Kress
and associate editor of The Boston
Globe Derrick Z. Jackson
Thursday, February 4, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
Another viewpoint? Frank Duveneck’s painting, The Boston Common (1890, oil on canvas,
UR308), offers an intriguing counterpoint to Hassam’s parkscape. Find it above the computer
catalog near the circulation desk.
MAPPING IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Maps, Apps, Tools, and Beyond
M E M B E R S ’
RECEPTION
Tuesday, January 26, 6-7:30 pm
Registration begins January 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
MARTINI MOVIE NIGHT
Young Patrons Sponsored
Viewing of High Society
N E W
BRIDGING THE GAP
The Meeting of Eastern
and Western Art
In this talk, Stephen Kress, or “The Puffin
Man,” and notable journalist and nature
photographer Derrick Jackson will share
with audience members the inspiring story
of Project Puffin, which has restored more
than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands,
where they had been wiped out and
nonexistent for more than 100 years. Kress
and Jackson will share techniques that were
developed during the project and have since
been used to help restore rare and endangered
seabirds worldwide. Further, they will
demonstrate how reestablished puffins now
serve as a window onto the effects of global
warming. The success of the project offers
hope that people can restore lost wildlife
populations and the habitats that support them.
Ready to go birdwatching?
Make an appointment to view John James
Audubon’s Ornithological Biography: An
Account of the Habits of the Birds of the
United States of America.
TEA
Thursday, February 11, 3-4:30 pm
Registration begins January 28, at 9 am
M $75. 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
A time-honored Athenæum tradition, complete with
delicate finger sandwiches, scrumptious scones
with clotted cream and jam, delectable sweet cakes,
savory tarts, and a selection of freshly-brewed teas.
dee da yu
la
m!
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD,
GO SET A WATCHMAN
And the “Discovery” of Racism
Lecture by Boston University English
Professor John T. Matthews
Wednesday, February 3, 6-7 pm
Registration begins January 20 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
To Kill a Mockingbird is among the most cherished
coming-of-age stories in American literary culture,
and its portrait of the noble Atticus Finch, a lawyer
who risks everything to defend a black man falsely
accused of a crime in the segregated South of the
1930s, has inspired generations of admirers. For
all its defense of such fundamental democratic
principles, however, Mockingbird also has been
criticized for its narrowing of questions of racial
justice to a drama of white conscience, of historical
change to a matter of individual attitude.
Harper Lee took several years to revise the original
draft of the novel that eventually appeared as
To Kill a Mockingbird. Her original manuscript,
entitled “Go Set a Watchman,” was known to
exist, but only recently did the author agree to its
publication after it was rediscovered in her papers.
In this lecture, John T. Matthews will discuss
with audience members how this “new” work
alters our understanding of what Lee wanted to
say about the racial crisis in the South during the
decades of the modern civil rights movement.
Curious about this period in American history?
Make an appointment to view handouts from
1960s Boston, advocating for civil rights of
African-American citizens living in the Southern
United States.
THE ILLEGAL
A Novel
Book talk with
internationally
best-selling author
Lawrence Hill
Wednesday, February
10, 6-7 pm
Registration begins
January 27 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-members $15
The Illegal is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a
refugee―like the many in today’s headlines―
compelled to leave his homeland. All Keita has
ever wanted to do is to run. Running means
respect and wealth at home. His native
Zantoroland, an imagined country whose tyrants
are eerily familiar, turns out the fastest marathoners
on earth. But after his journalist father is killed for
his outspoken political views, Keita must flee to the
wealthy nation of Freedom State―a fictionalized
country engaged in a crackdown on all
undocumented people, bearing a striking
resemblance to modern America. There, Keita
becomes a part of the new underground. He
learns what it means to live as an illegal. This
tension-filled novel casts its eye on race, human
potential, and what it means to belong.
BEYOND FREEDOM’S REACH
A Kidnapping in the Twilight
of Slavery
Book talk with Civil War expert and
Georgetown University Professor
Adam Rothman
Wednesday, February 17, 12-1 pm
P F No reservations required
In this talk, Adam Rothman will share excerpts
from Beyond Freedom’s Reach, the true story of
one woman’s quest to rescue her children from
bondage. In the gripping, meticulously researched
account, Adam Rothman lays bare the mayhem of
emancipation during and after the Civil War. After
Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, the
slave-owning De Harts fled to Havana, taking Rose
Herera’s three children with them. When Mary De
Hart returned to New Orleans in 1865, she was
surprised to find herself taken into custody as a
kidnapper. As Rothman will share, the case of Rose
Herera’s abducted children reveals to the reader
the prospects for and limits of justice that existed
during Reconstruction. In his book and during the
talk, Rothman will offer a poignant reflection on
the tangled politics of slavery and the hazards that
were faced by so many Americans on the hard road
to freedom.
To learn more about this period in American
history, view our extensive Confederate imprint
collection, now digitized and available online
through the generosity of Caleb Loring, Jr.
JUST for KIDS
TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC & SLEEPOVER
Saturday, February 27, 11 am-2pm
M F Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
We’re hiring! The Boston Athenæum seeks qualified stuffed animals, action figures, and
dolls to work for one special night in Reference, Circulation, Security, and other library
departments. Human friends are invited to join us for a brown-bag Teddy Bears’ Picnic and
screening of Toy Story before the stuffies, lovies, and toys get to work! Human friends can
pick up their stuffies, lovies, and toys at the Circulation Desk along with pictures of all the
work their stuffed friends completed overnight on Sunday, February 28, from 12-4 pm.
P R E S C H O O L S T O RY T I M E
Tuesdays at 10:30 am
January 5, 12, 19, 26
February 2, 9, 16, 23
M F No reservations required
FA M I LY S T O R Y T I M E
Saturdays at 10:30 am
January 9, 16, 23, 30
February 6, 13, 20, 27
M F No reservations required
STORIES & CRAFTS
FOR AGES 5+
Wednesdays at 3:30 pm
January 6, 13, 20, 27
February 3, 10, 17, 24
M F No reservations required
YOUNG READERS’
BOOK GROUP
Recommended for children aged 9 to 13
Mondays at 6 pm
January 18 and February 22
Register by emailing
warnement@bostonanthenaeum.org
M $3
STORIES, SONGS,
AND ACTIVITIES
Thursdays at 10:30 am
January 7, 14, 21, 28
February 4, 11, 18, 25
M F No reservations required
&
y
r
ste em
y
M ayh
M
LEGO®, CHESS,
& PUZZLE CLUB
Recommended for children aged 5 to 8
Saturdays at 2 pm
January 30 and February 27
M F Register by emailing
omeara@bostonantheneaum.org
OPEN
MONDAY—THURSDAY, 9 am-8 pm
FRIDAY, 9 am-5:30 pm
EYE OF THE EXPERT
SATURDAY, 9 am-4 pm
Thursdays January 7 and February 4, 5:30-7:30 pm
Registration begins at 9 am on December 28 and January 21
Space is limited to 12 participants M R Members $75 10½ Circle privileges do not apply
H O L I D AY C L O S I N G
Back by popular demand! Get up close with artworks and rare materials as members of our expert
staff divulge the fascinating stories behind them, including why they are historically or artistically
important, and how and why they are in the Athenæum’s collections. Each program will be
presented by members of our special collections team, and will be followed by an opportunity to
continue the discussion over wine and light hors d’oeuvres in the Gordon Reading Room.
SUNDAY, 12 pm-4 pm
FRIDAY, January 1
Closed All Day
10½ BEACON STREET
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02108
617-227-0270
COLLECTIONS CORNER
PETITE FEET
A Concert in Celebration
of Artist Allan Rohan Crite
Recently Acquired
NOW ON VIEW
The Athenæum recently acquired Interior with Figure, Antwerp by
Otto Grundmann. Grundmann, who had his earliest artistic training in
his native Dresden, came to America in 1876 to accept the directorship
of the new School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He served
in that role, and as a highly respected teacher, until his death in 1890.
He specialized in genre painting (scenes of everyday life) in the
tradition of seventeenth-century Dutch masters such as Vermeer.
This recent acquisition, the first painting by this important Boston
artist to enter the Athenæum’s collection, is in every way
characteristic of his work. The painting can be viewed in the
sitting room off the hallway leading to the Children’s Library.
DOWN IN THE DUMPS
NEWS YOU CAN USE
In Athenæum jargon, the “dump” refers to the
re-shelving area on every floor. Members in
the know have been perusing these shelves
for years. Can’t make it into the building for
this serendipitous search? Don’t fret. View our
weekly list on the “Book Recommendations”
page under the “Library” tab of the website for
these Reader to Reader Recommendations.
IMAGING STUDIO In celebration of the relocation of the Imaging
Studio (formerly called the Digital Lab) to the second floor of 10½
Beacon Street, Patricia Boulos, Head of Digital Programs, and her team
will host informal, drop-in open studio sessions on Tuesday, January
19, from 1:30-4:30 pm and Wednesday, January 20, from 4-6 pm. All
members are encouraged to stop by and learn more about the Imaging
Studio, where colleagues create the online images that bring our rarest
collections before the world. As visitors will learn, the new studio
offers optimal climate and security controls, and ideal proximity to
rare materials storerooms.
Reader to Reader Recs
Recent titles found down
in the dumps, include:
Walker, Alice foreword
and illustration by Shiloh
McCloud. Hard Times
Require Furious Dancing:
New Poems, Library of
Congress Classification
PS3573.A425 H37 2010
IN THE GALLERIES
Collecting for the Boston Athenæum in the 21st
Century: Maps, Charts, & Plans brings together
an exquisite selection of materials from the
institution’s rich cartographic collection. The
third in a series, the exhibition celebrates the
Athenæum’s robust acquisitions program and
showcases more than 50 objects that have been
added to the collection since the year 2000.
GALLERY TALKS with Curator of Maps
John Lannon are limited to 15 participants.
Wednesday, January 13, 11 am-12 pm
Registration begins December 30 at 9 am
Wednesday, February 10, 2-3 pm
Registration begins January 27 at 9 am
M F
PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE CHECKLIST For the first time
ever, complete illustrated checklists of the Athenæum’s collections
of paintings and sculpture are available online — a first step towards
our long-term goal of making a searchable online catalogue available
to members and researchers around the world. The art lists appear in a
sidebar on the “Paintings & Sculpture” page under the “Collections”
tab of the website.
ART PERIODICALS The organization of art periodicals is complete!
Readers will find their favorites in an attractive, well-organized, and
freshly painted space outside the Upper Pilgrim elevator, just steps
from their former location in the art reference section.
PHONE BOOTHS Looking for a place to sneak away to make a phone
call? Try out our vintage phone booths repurposed as mobile phone use
stations that have been installed in the hallway leading to the Children’s
Library. Phone calls can also be placed in the vestibule of the building.
Talking on mobile phones is prohibited elsewhere in the building, and
on the terraces.
NEW FACES The Athenæum is pleased to welcome the following
colleagues: Alyssa Garcia, Development Intern, and Graham Skinner,
Cataloging Assistant (formerly a Digital Programs Intern).
www.bostonathenaeum.org
Concert with jazz ensemble Petite Feet
Tuesday, February 23, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 9 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-members $30
PICTURING
FREDERICK DOUGLASS
An Illustrated Biography of
the Nineteenth Century’s Most
Photographed American
Book talk with best-selling author
and Harvard University Professor
of English and African American
Studies John Stauffer
Monday, February 22, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 8 at 9 am
M R Members $15
Prolific Boston artist Allan Rohan Crite
created an extensive body of work featuring
the daily life of ordinary African Americans.
In celebration of his work, and in collaboration with the New England Conservatory’s
Community Performances and Partnerships
Program, the Boston Athenæum is proud to
present jazz ensemble Petite Feet. Petite Feet
will respond musically to a selection of Crite’s
works from the Athenæum’s collection.
View a selection of Crite’s watercolors and
drawings online, and see his paintings
on view in the Bornheimer Room and
Membership Office.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency.
VOICES BEYOND
BONDAGE
An Anthology of Verse
by African Americans
of the 19th Century
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016
Book talk with literary scholars
Erika DeSimone and Fidel Louis
Thursday, February 25, 6-7 pm
Registration begins February 11 at 9 am
P R Members Free Non-Members $15
Voices Beyond Bondage: An Anthology of
Verse by African Americans of the 19th
Century is a collection of 150 poems culled
from burgeoning black-owned newspapers
of the era, and offers a fresh perspective on
African-American life and identity. These
poems are penned mostly by everyday people
compelled to write—despite being born into a
world of fundamental inequity. Whether these
authors were formally schooled or self-taught,
whether they were slaves, free people, or the
descendants of slaves, African Americans put
ink to paper and declared their passions in
verse. Until now, these poems—and an entire
literary movement—were lost to modern
readers.
Can’t get enough poetry? Discover the poetry
of Phillis Wheatley, the first Black poet in
America to publish a book, in the Athenæum’s
circulating and special collections.
In this talk, John Stauffer will share with us
excerpts and images from Picturing Frederick
Douglass, a work that promises to revolutionize our knowledge of race and photography
in 19th-century America. Stauffer will paint
a picture of Frederick Douglass as a leading
pioneer in photography, both as a stately
subject and as a prescient theorist who
believed in the explosive social power of
what was then just a nascent art form.
BOSTON ATHENÆUM
PROPRIETORS’ ANNUAL
MEETING
Tuesday, February 16, 3:45 pm M R F
THE RACE for THE WHITE HOUSE in 2016
The New Hampshire Primary and Beyond
A panel discussion with The Boston Globe political reporters Shira T. Center,
Akilah Johnson, Annie Linskey, Jim O’Sullivan, James Pindell, and Matthew Viser
Thursday, January 21, 6-7 pm, Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont Street, Boston
M F R Registration begins December 28 at 9 am
Political reporters from The Boston Globe will discuss one of the most unpredictable presidential
races in a generation. Just days before Iowa and New Hampshire voters make their picks for the
presidential nominees, top political journalists from the Pulitzer-prize winning news organization
will convene for a panel on the campaigns they have been covering for the last year. Who will win
the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary? Will the victors be the eventual nominees?
And how will this influence who wins the White House in 2016?
Are you a
POLITICAL
HISTORY
JUNKIE?
Check out our collection
of 19th-century political
ballots, available in the
Digital Collections
section of our website.
Proprietors will receive an email or paper invitation.
Proprietors of the Boston Athenæum are invited to
the 2016 Annual Meeting. A reception will follow.
Guests are welcome to join the reception. For more
information, please contact Catherine McGrath at
617-720-7661 or mcgrath@bostonathenaeum.org.
Interested in viewing some of Stauffer’s
primary source materials first-hand? Make
an appointment to view our 1865 Merrill &
Crosby photograph of Frederick Douglass.
CLEMENS TEUFEL
A classical piano concert featuring the works of Gershwin and Hanson
Sunday, February 28, 1-2 pm
Registration begins February 12 at 9 am
P R Members $15 Non-Members $30
In his solo debut concert, Clemens Teufel will feature the colorful compositions of neo-romantic
master composer, Hanson, and the swing and glamour of the all-time favorite, Gershwin. Born in
Frankfurt, Germany, Clemens Teufel received his first piano lessons at the age of seven. Described
as “Red-hot German Pianist” by the Cape Ann Beacon and commended for “incredibly sensitive
playing” by the Weilheimer Tagblatt, Teufel started his education at the University Franz Liszt in
Weimar and completed his studies at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in
the masterclass of Professor Lev Natochenny.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
“The horizon leans forward, Offering you space to place new steps of change.”
Maya Angelou (from The Rock Cries Out Today)
Happy New Year! At the Athenæum, 2016 offers fresh expanses for the intellect
and the imagination. A panel of Boston Globe journalists will assess the
presidential primaries; an MFA curator will reinterpret a beloved masterpiece;
a geographer-neuroscientist will consider mapping in the age of GPS; a Harper
Lee scholar will discuss Go Set a Watchman; a jazz ensemble will pay tribute
to the visual art of Allan Rohan Crite; our digital team will welcome members
to their new lab; and anthology editors will read poems by 19th-century
African-Americans.
The exhibition of Maps, Charts, & Plans is complemented by a new presentation
in the Sitting Room. Washington Allston paintings enliven the Children’s Library
corridor, and portrait miniatures appear in the Art Department. At times when
winter weather complicates a visit, our website offers a respite from cabin fever.
From event recordings to electronic resources—which now include Oxford Music
Online—to complete illustrated checklists of the art collection, there’s always
something new to discover.
Elizabeth E. Barker, Ph.D.
Stanford Calderwood Director
GLIMPSED
AT 1 0 ½
During last month’s “Eye of the Expert:
An Evening of Mystery and Mayhem”
program, Stanley Ellis Cushing,
Anne C. and David J. Bromer Curator
of Rare Books and Manuscripts,
discusses a print of the front elevation
of the Massachusetts State Prison in
Charlestown where James Allen (alias
George Walton), the highwayman of
the BA’s infamous “Skin Book,” died.