Monday, March 28, 2011

Art collecting for philanthropy and education

Sisters continued mother's philanthropic pursuits - Utica, NY - The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York:
Munsonwomen.jpg
"Helen Elizabeth Munson was laying the foundation for a museum and performing arts center that would become a focal point for Utica’s cultural past, present and future.

An astute art collector, a philanthropist and shrewd investor, Munson was well ahead of her late 19th-century female counterparts.

Her collection and vision, which she passed down to her daughters Rachel and Maria (pronounced Mariah), has literally become the foundation for the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute as a performing arts center. The institute celebrates 75 years as a performing arts center this year.

“Their collections really formed the core of our collection when we opened our doors in 1936, and I think our involvement in the community really carries on the proctor sprit, that we are still free and that they would see the work that would please them. Everything from the arts festival to the refugee center to the programs at the Utica school district is really carrying on what they were interested in for this community — using arts as a basis for education, and to give people in this community cultural experiences they wouldn’t have had necessarily.”"

Archive of Melrose Massachusetts Memories Collector

‘Archive of Melrose Memories:’ One man’s dedication to the past - Melrose, Massachusetts - Melrose Free Press


A history of ‘movers and shakers’
Born in Medford, Scott Macaulay moved to Melrose, Massachusetts in 1969, when he was entering the second grade, and developed an interest in local history by the time he was in high school. He credits a presentation by James McArdle, a member of the Melrose Historical Society, with helping to spur his interest.

...Macaulay has assembled an engaging collection of odds and ends from Melrose’s history (Massachusetts), ranging from one-of-a-kind pieces, like a 1915 map of the city created by an insurance expert, to milk jugs, marshmallow tins, and cologne bottles from the city’s industrial past. Macaulay’s collection, which he estimates to be shy of 100 pieces, is housed beside rows of vacuum cleaners, inside a display case tucked into one corner of his shop.
Macaulay is also assembling a collection of historical photographs for the archive, which he stores in bulky carrying cases beside a filing cabinet.
Visitors are free to leaf through laminated photographs, like an 1895 picture of one of Melrose’s first fire engines, which are filed into the cases. Macaulay borrows the photographs from local history collectors and produces high-quality copies for the archive.
Macaulay is always on the hunt for interesting photographs from the city’s history to share with residents.
“This is not supposed to be something where you walk around with white gloves on, and can’t enjoy,” Macaulay explained. “My whole purpose is to share Melrose history on an introductory level.”


Read more: ‘Archive of Melrose Memories:’ One man’s dedication to the past - Melrose, Massachusetts - Melrose Free Press http://www.wickedlocal.com/melrose/archive/x1608498300/-Archive-of-Melrose-Memories-One-man-s-dedication-to-the-past#ixzz1HvPkfxfT

Civil War photographs on display | Slater Auditorium at Norwich, CT Free Academy

The Day - Civil War photographs on display at NFA | News from southeastern Connecticut

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Norwich Historical Society will host a photography program by noted historic photography collector Matthew Isenburg Monday at Slater Auditorium at Norwich Free Academy. 
The program, “ Civil War Photographs,” will begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday as the highlight of the Norwich Historical Society’s annual meeting. The program is free and open to the public.
His collection includes images, many rare, daguerreian and wet-plate cameras, thousands of books on photography and manuscripts.


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