LET'S ALL GO ON A GROUP TOUR OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

Let's all go on a Group Tour with two of the Museum's professional docents at the New York Historical Society Museum, on Saturday September 13th from 1pm - 3pm.

HISTORY

The New-York Historical Society is renowned for its large-scale historical exhibitions. These exhibitions cover a wide range of subjects, including the founding father of the United States Alexander Hamilton, New York abolitionist, the Hudson River School, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, Louis Comfort Tiffany's stained glass, and the September 11 attacks.
The museum of the New-York Historical Society houses over 1.6 million historical objects and works of art. These collections document the history of the United States and New York, and include paintings from the Hudson River School, watercolors by Jean-Jacques Audubon, decorative arts, and objects related to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

THE COST OF THE GROUP TOUR AND VISIT.

There is a cost of $25 to visit the museum and to enjoy a Group Tour of the exhibitions I have mentioned below. The tickets each Member will receive include full-day admission, individual vouchers for reduced Regular Admission tickets on a future visit, and a 10% discount in the Museum Store.

THE GROUP TOUR WILL CONSIST OF THE TWO EXHIBITIONS BELOW, WHICH WILL BE PROFESSIONALLY GUIDED BY TWO OF THE MUSEUM'S DOCENTS AS FOLLOWS:

### Blacklisted : An American Story

In 1947, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) called Hollywood figures to testify about allegations of communist propaganda in American films. Although the committee never found any evidence, it held ten of the writers and directors in contempt of Congress. The Ten were fined and sentenced to prison. Hollywood responded by creating a blacklist of those implicated in the proceedings, becoming the first mass employer to adopt a policy against employees whose political beliefs ran counter to prevailing orthodoxies. Blacklisted: An American Story explores the intersection of politics, art, culture, and social dynamics during Hollywood’s Red Scare through photographs, objects, and film. Personal narratives of the blacklisted “Hollywood Ten,” members of Congress, and film executives reveal different approaches to what it means to be a patriotic American. The exhibition also explores how Broadway and New York’s theatre community responded at a time when art and creative expression were no longer protected.

### Dining in Transit

Let's take a trip through the history of travel and the innovative ways ocean liners, trains, and airplanes catered to passengers’ appetites and expectations during the first half of the 20th century. French chefs were hired, signature meals introduced, and multi-course holiday meals served high in the sky. An array of distinctive objects—from souvenir menus to promotional recipe books, employee handbooks, and collectible tableware—illustrate how transportation companies focused on memorable culinary experiences to attract and retain customers. The exhibition also explores the racialized hiring practices of the Pullman Company that recruited formerly enslaved Black men to be railroad cooks and waiters and the exacting physical requirements used by airlines in their hiring of women. Among the highlights of the exhibition are dozens of beautifully designed menus from the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library’s vast collection, recipe books published by railroads and airlines, and a look at food trends that influenced meals served onboard. For a fun and historic treat, the museum’s new restaurant, Clara, has specially created a Dining in Transit-inspired dessert menu—including fresh strawberry Bavarois from a 1938 voyage on the SS Normandie—dreamed up by star Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO VISIT AFTER THE GROUP TOUR?

Aside from the two exhibitions on the Group Tour that will last about one hour, there are currently several exhibitions that are worth seeing at the museum including:

### New York, New York: The Elie and Sarah Hirschfeld Collection

This exhibition exudes New York. Featuring highlights from a transformative promised gift to The New York Historical by prominent philanthropists and art collectors Elie and Sarah Hirschfeld alongside recent additions to their private collection, New York, New York showcases a stunning array of works honoring the Big Apple—from its bustling harbors to its Harlem diners, Village speakeasies, sleek skyscrapers, and gritty streetscapes. Art by Thomas Hart Benton, Fritz Scholder, Keith Haring, Yvonne Jacquette, Charles Sheeler, and Saul Steinberg, among others, tells the story of a place at once enthralling, mystifying, and inspiring. Together, the over 50 works on display spotlight New York-centric movements like Abstract Expressionism, Pop, the Ashcan School, and graffiti art; probe Gotham’s layered past; and trace the rhythms of the metropolis and its daily life.

### New York Story

This is an an 18-minute theatrical media experience narrated by Liev Schreiber, . Shown in the Museum's state-of-the-art theater, it illuminates the story of the nation by exploring the story of New York and its rise from a remote outpost to a city at the center of the world. Through immersive video projection, moving scenic elements, theatrical lighting, surround sound and a show design that evolves over the course of the experience, visitors will witness the dynamic forces that have shaped the nation and the city, discovering themes and core notions that sit at their nexus. The overall vista expands from 25’ to 73’ wide high-resolution images over the course of the show.

### We Rise: A Film from the Center for Women's History

On November 6, 1917, women in New York State gained the right to vote. Amidst the arduous 70-year fight for suffrage, activists also brought to light myriad social issues, from labor conditions to racism to birth control. Narrated by Meryl Streep and featuring the song "We Are Here" written and composed by Alicia Keys, "We Rise" places women at the center of political thought and action that reshaped the country in the early 20th century. Through artistic projections, immersive sound, and theatrical lighting, the unique 17-minute film created by Donna Lawrence Productions profiles some of the remarkable women whose advocacy for change had lasting effects—including Lillian Wald, nurse and founder of Henry Street Settlement; Addie Hunton, suffragist and leader of black women's organizations; Margaret Sanger, birth control activist; and Clara Lemlich, who led the massive strike of shirtwaist workers in New York's garment industry in 1909; as well as women such as Clara Driscoll, head of Tiffany Studios' Women's Glass Cutting Department, who found new opportunities for work and independence in New York City during the era.

### Gallery of Tiffany Lamps

Featuring 100 illuminated Tiffany lamps displayed within a dramatically lit jewel-like space. Regarded as one of the world’s largest and most encyclopedic, the Museum’s Tiffany Lamp collection includes multiple examples of the Dragonfly shade, a unique Dogwood floor lamp (ca. 1900–06), a Wisteria table lamp (ca. 1901), and a rare, elaborate Cobweb shade on a Narcissus mosaic base (ca. 1902), among many others.

WHERE ARE WE MEETING?

We will meet near the entrance area, just near the NYHistory Store.