New England splint basket, $29,900.
Racing Yachts at the Hudson River Museum
YONKERS, N.Y. – “: Racing Yachts and Westchester,” on view from September 8 through January 15, 2001 at the Hudson River Museum, traces the development of yacht racing on the Long Island Sound and the Hudson River through paintings, photographs and models as well as chromolithographs by Prang, Currier & Ives, and others.
The exhibit highlights the aesthetic beauty of these boats that were designed for speed racing. It profiles some of the most famous yachts that sailed in this region in addition to the yacht’s designers, builders and sailors.
The boats span the sports’ classic era, from New York Yacht Club schooner America, whose 1851 win of the “100 Guinea Cup” sparked a furor of sailing interest in the New York area, to the great J-boat Ranger, the 1937 America’s Cup winner co-designed by Larchmont member Olin Stephens.
The Sound, one of the major yachting centers of the world during its golden age, was home to some of the most exclusive Westchester yacht clubs. Larchmont Yacht Club members included avid racers and contributors to America’s Cup competitions such as C. Oliver Iselin, who sponsored the Herreshoff-designed boats Vigilant (1893), Defender (1895), Columbia (1899) and Reliance (1903).
Other boats profiled include: Gilded Age millionaire Jay Gould’s steam yacht Atalanta, used by him for pleasure and commuting on the Hudson River and the Madeleine, a Schooner Cup winner built by David Kirby in Rye, N.Y.
“: Racing Yachts and Westchester” was organized by Laura Vookles, museum curator of collections, and Barbara Davis, museum curator of public programs. It is on view in the Lifflander Gallery, located on the second floor of Glenview Mansion.
The museum is at 511 Warburton Avenue.For information, call 914/963-4550.
