: This winter, the Albany Institute of History & Art, 125
Washington Avenue, celebrates the beauty, technique and legacy of
decorative arts that uniquely link the Capital Region to the
international community through six exhibitions - "The Lamps of
Tiffany: Highlights from the Neustadt Collection"; "Blue Box
Treasures: Tiffany & Co."; "Potent Potables: Punch and Punch
Bowls in America"; "Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Royal House of
Stuart, 1688-1788: Works of Art from The Drambuie Collection"; "I
Am a Scot: Albany's Scottish Heritage"; and "Lustrous: A
Centennial Celebration of Art Glass Designed by Frederick
Carder."
"This is an extraordinary opportunity for the Albany Institute to
connect the dots and showcase the crucial relationship between
history and art," said Christine Miles, AIHA director. "This
suite of exhibitions shows off the vibrancy and innovation of
decorative arts while highlighting the connections of seemingly
unrelated topics; the business rivalry between Louis Comfort
Tiffany and Frederick Carder, the influence of an exiled monarch
and the settlement of the Mohawk Hudson Valley and the influence
of international trade on establishing sociable traditions from
colonial times through today."
"The Lamps of Tiffany: Highlights from the Neustadt Collection"
presented by the MetLife Foundation, is on exhibition through
February 15. During the 1890s the artist and craftsman Louis
Comfort Tiffany, son of the New York City jewelry merchant, began
to produce lamps to supplement his successful stained glass
window business. Drawn from objects from the Neustadt Museum of
Tiffany Art, this exhibition features 43 stunning examples of
table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers, globes and windows by
Louis Comfort Tiffany.
The complementary exhibition, "Blue Box Treasures: Tiffany &
Co.," also through February 15, pays homage to Tiffany-pere, with
a selection of objects owned by the Albany Institute from the
venerable firm of Tiffany & Co.
Presenting a different perspective on the evolution of art glass,
"Lustrous: A Centennial Celebration of Art Glass Designed by
Frederick Carder," presented by M&T Bank and on exhibition
through May 9, showcases the array of forms, decorative
techniques and new glass colors of Frederick Carder, one of the
most creative glass designers of the Twentieth Century. This
exhibition includes vases, perfume bottles, compotes and bowls of
the iridescent Aurene art glass produced by Steuben Glass Works
(Corning, N.Y.) that rivaled Louis Comfort Tiffany's Favrile
glass.
"Potent Potables: Punch and Punch Bowls in America," on
exhibition through February 15, celebrates the tradition of
punch, as a libation and as a key ingredient for social
interactions. By tracing its history from colonial and
post-revolutionary America, this exhibition features punch bowls,
punch cups, punch recipes, wine glasses, mugs and ladles used by
some of the founding families of the region.
Organized by The Drambuie Liqueur Company Ltd, Edinburgh,
Scotland, "Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Royal House of Stuart,
1688-1788: Works of Art from The Drambuie Collection," presented
by the St Andrew's Society and on exhibition through May 9, tells
the story of historic upheaval, royal intrigue and the exile of
several thousand Stuart supporters, who would eventually help the
United States win its independence. From portrait paintings to
the finest, rarest and most valuable example of an "Amen" glass,
the works gathered in this exhibition were commissioned in
secrecy from some of the finest craftsmen of the day to support
the claim to the British throne made by the Stuarts, the Scottish
royal family descended from Robert the Bruce.
Add the complementary exhibition, "I Am a Scot: Albany's Scottish
Heritage," also on exhibition through May 9, highlights the
diverse role Scottish immigrants played in defining the economic
and cultural character of Albany. In fact, Albany owes its name
to Scotland, as do the villages of Scotia, Selkirk and New
Scotland.
One Sunday, January 11, at 2:30 pm there will be a lecture
entitle "The Genius of Frederick Carder" by Jane Shadel Spillman,
curator of American glass, Corning Museum of Glass. This lecture
will present the work of Frederick Carder, who co-founded Steuben
Glass Works in 1903. Spillman will discuss Carder's early career
in England, his work at Steuben and his glassmaking after 1933.
On Saturday, January 24, at 4 pm, there will be a lecture
entitled "Kings Over the Water: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the
Royal House of Stuart" by Michael Cassin, curator of education at
the Clark Art Institute Williamstown, Mass. For more than 100
years, whenever Jacobite supporters gathered together, glasses
were raised in a toast to the "King over the water." This lecture
will look at portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie and other Stuart
family members.
On Sunday, February 1, at 2:30 pm, there will be a lecture
entitled "One Bowl More and Then: Punch Drinking in Colonial
America" by Donald Friary, director emeritus and senior research
fellow at Historic Deerfield, Inc. Dr Friary will speak about the
exotic drink that entered English colonial life in the
Seventeenth Century. Spirits, water, sugar, fruit and spice were
combined to create a refreshing and potent beverage throughout
the English-speaking world until it collided with the Temperance
movement in the Nineteenth Century.
For information on any of the exhibitions, programs or events,
call 518-463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org.
