New York's oldest museum is located in downtown Albany and showcases exhibitions that range from colo
(282)
Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute is one of the oldest museums in the United States. We are dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting and promoting interest in the history, art and culture of Albany and the Upper Hudson Valley.
Did you enjoy yesterday’s snow? Known for spectacular snow scenes, Walter Launt Palmer perfectly captured the way fluffy flakes stick to trees to create a winter wonderland in this painting.
[Yellow Sunset, Walter Launt Palmer, oil on canvas, 1888, AIHA, gift of Beatrice Palmer, 1942.34.88]
Many cultures celebrate Three Kings Day on January 6.
Dutch scripture paintings like this one represent one of the earliest artistic traditions in America. AIHA owns thirteen examples. There are contemporary references to them in Albany. In 1744, Dr. Alexander Hamilton recounted “The Dutch here…affect pictures much, particularly scripture history, with which they adorn their homes.” The most important visual source for scripture paintings were the illustrations found in Dutch Bibles, printed in the Netherlands, and imported in great quantity during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
[Adoration of the Magi, unidentified limner, oil on canvas, c.1740, AIHA, gift of Samuel A. Ten Broeck and Mary Ten Broeck, 1908.9.5]
In honor of National Bird Day, we are sharing these candle holders. In Chinese culture, the crane is a symbol of peace and longevity. It is venerated as the prince of all feathered creatures and is the second most favored bird symbol after the phoenix.
[Crane Candle Holders, China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795), cloisonné enamel, AIHA, gift of Mary Taylor Moulton Hanrahan, 1945.15.145]
The Museum Store will be closed for inventory January 8 – January 12.
Are you driving on the Thruway this week? The increase in tolls made us think of this 19th century sign in our collection. Rates were based on the type of vehicle and how much livestock you were transporting. In 1804, a 5 miles long turnpike was constructed that ran south from the Albany city line on the road that would be named South Pearl Street. This sign hung on the road’s only tollgate at Kenwood.
[Albany & Bethlehem Turnpike Road Rates of Toll, unidentified maker, painted wood, c.1840, AIHA, u1972.16.1]
Happy New Year’s Eve! Will you be singing Auld Lang Syne to bid farewell to 2023? Did you know that the melody commonly used today was first documented in 1799? Among the contents of the time capsule was a small pamphlet of songs including Our Pledge to Albany sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. This is one of the many items on view in our exhibition The Time Capsule: What We Found Under Philip Schuyler.
Today and tomorrow are the last days to see 112 works of art inspired by water and marine life in the 19th National Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists.
[Icefields in the Peninsula, Luc Bernay, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist
Renewal, Roger Dale Brown, oil on linen, courtesy of the artist]
Shopping for the perfect little black dress for New Year's Eve? Perhaps you’ll find a lovely, beaded dress like this one. In the 1920s, Harriet Van Alstyne Frisbee of Stuyvesant, New York, may have danced the night away while wearing this frock. Picot-edged handkerchief points lengthened the skirt as fashion dictated lower hemlines towards the end of the decade.
[Black Beaded Dress with Handkerchief Hem, unknown maker, silk with glass beads, mid-late 1920s, AIHA, gift of the Estate of Priscilla B. Frisbee, 2016.8.8]
“I have often been mesmerized by the water swirling over rocks and tried to capture it.” Catherine Fasciato
Only 4 more days to see Reflective Impressions: The 19th National Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists. The exhibition closes on Sunday and travels to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
[Swirling, Catherine Fasciato, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist]
Only 5 more days to see spectacular examples of marine art. The exhibition closes on Sunday.
Artist Russ Kramer explained his painting: The first Corinthians were residents of the ancient Greek seaport of Corinth. A typical port town, Corinth was described as “a place of proverbial wickedness, energy, riches, noise.” The New Testament portrays them as a little unruly but fully capable of improvement. Later, In Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare has young Prince Hal describe himself as “a Corinthian, a lad of mettle, a good boy.” A Corinthian, then, was a spunky, robust guy or gal. This nickname would have appealed to the young American sailors of the 1870s who were challenging the yachting establishment by sailing their own boats. Until then most yachtsmen paid for professional crews and captains. New Corinthian yacht clubs had fleets of small boats, and the rules required that they be raced only by Corinthian sailors who did all the work, had all the fun, and were paid not a nickel. By the 1920s, the average American yachtsman was a Corinthian “lad of mettle.” In this romanticized scene, the lady onboard is clearly enjoying the action, while her gentlemen friends are perhaps skeptical of her sportswear choices.
[The Corinthians, Russ Kramer, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist]
AIHA owns numerous Christmas cards designed by artists represented in our collection. Graphic designer Hans-Joachim (Hajo) Christoph designed this card for personal use. Born in Berlin, Christoph came to America in 1925. The Fort Orange Paper Company of Castleton, New York, hired Hajo in 1931 as their resident artist and designer, a position he kept until 1965. Hajo also designed the original Tulip Queen crown.
[Christmas Card, Hajo Christoph (1903-1992), ink on card, 1938-1955, AIHA, Gift of Peter and Florence Christoph, 2009.2.43]
“And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.”
In 1842, Albany merchant Richard Pease placed this ad in two Albany newspapers enticing people to patronize his Great Variety Store because Santa Claus shopped there. With baskets of toys, Santa descends the chimney while two reindeer wait on the rooftop in this rare illustration.
[Advertisement, Albany Argus, December 23, 1842, woodcut on paper, AIHA, Historic Newspaper Collection]
Happy Anniversary!
On this day, 200 years ago, A Visit from St. Nicholas was first published in the Troy Sentinel and the rest is history. If you are wondering why it wasn’t published on the night before Christmas, it’s because the Troy Sentinel was semi-weekly. The newspaper was printed only on Tuesdays and Fridays and in 1823, December 24 fell on a Wednesday. The earliest version in the museum’s collection is this c.1870 edition featuring illustrations by Thomas Nast. The children’s book contains 6 full page chromolithographs and 6 black/white illustrations.
[Visit from St. Nicholas, Clement Clark Moore, McLoughlin Brothers, AIHA, SpC 813 MOO VIS 1869]
Is attending a performance of The Nutcracker one of your holiday traditions?
Joan Steiner recreated one of the scenes using found objects like a badminton shuttlecock for Clara’s dress and a bottle of nail polish for the soldier’s jacket. The Nutcracker diorama and eight other Look Alikes® are on view at the museum.
'Tis the season for cookies. Do you like to make cut outs, drop, or molded cookies?
The 19th century baker would have pressed dough into carved wood molds like this one by John Conger, a New York City baker who supervised a workshop of mold carvers. The intricate designs required a dough that didn’t spread. A Northern European tradition for hundreds of years, molds like these were often handed down from generation to generation.
[Baking mold, John Conger, mahogany, 1825-1845, AIHA, U1978.146]
molds
Do you still need gift suggestions? Around 1900 the John G. Myers Company printed this brochure advertising Toyland and proclaiming the store was Albany’s Treasure House of Art. The five-story department store was built in 1887 and collapsed in 1905. It reopened next door and stayed in business until 1970.
[John G. Myers Company brochure, c.1900, AIHA Ephemera Collection]
Stockings hung by the chimney with care?
This pair of red wool socks with reinforced blue heels was worn by Rev. Selah Ireland (1785-1860), a Methodist minister who lived a few miles north of Albany in Newtonville. In 1943, they were donated to the museum by his granddaughter who said the yarn was spun with wool sheared on his farm Elmhurst. She also donated sheep shears.
[Stockings, unknown maker, wool, mid-19th century, AIHA, gift of Miss Zillah Asbury Ireland, 1943.64.4]
Stop by to see this amazing painting. You will never look at or through ice the same way again.
Artist Matthew Hillier stated: “I like looking into water. It is fascinating to see the different layers above and below the surface. There are lovely patterns in the ice as it forms, reflected trees and sky from above. Then leaves and twigs under the ice. It also becomes a sort of abstract painting, and yet very real.”
[Under the Ice, Matthew Hillier, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist]
New acquisition!
In September 1980 while on an American tour, Israeli sculptor Chaim Hendin stopped by the Albany Jewish Community Center to do a lecture and demonstration. At the time it was said that his work ranged from realistic to surrealistic and that his sculpture expressed both universal and Judaic themes. Dr. Raymond and Sara Harris may have acquired this menorah while Hendin was in Albany.
[Menorah, Chaim Hendin (b. 1920), bronze, c.1980, AIHA, gift from the family of Dr. Raymond and Sara Richman Harris, 2023]
Our website is down temporarily, but our phones are working, and the galleries are open. Thanks for your patience.
Is a new bicycle on someone’s holiday wish list? The Montgomery Ward Christmas Catalog offered these models in 1974. Remember paging through the catalogs or shopping at the store in Menands? Our collection includes dozens of Montgomery Ward catalogs that provide insight into daily life throughout the 20th century.
To all those celebrating, we wish you a Hanukkah filled with light and joy.
Dean Frederick Murphy of the Junior College of Albany joins Howard Picker and his fifth-grade students from Hebrew Academy at a Hanukkah celebration in 1969. Left to Right: Melanie Kay, Lee Caplan, Dawn Wilson, Aliza A***n, Diane Solomon, Elaine Berkun, Lyle Seltzer, Daniel Heckelman, Marcia Poskanzer, Jackie Posner.
[Hanukkah Celebration at Jr. College of Albany, 1969, AIHA Purchase, LIB 2020.32.5]
Still looking for the perfect holiday card? Stop by the museum shop to pick up a few featuring beautiful snow scenes by Walter Launt Palmer from our collection.
[vertical: The Head Waters, Walter Launt Palmer, oil on canvas, 1911, AIHA, gift of Lorraine Foster in memory of CDR William Grandy Foster USN, 2019.42 and horizontal: Road to Olana, Walter Launt Palmer, watercolor and gouache on paper, 1888, AIHA, gift of the estate of Miss Evelyn Newman, 1964.31.40]
It’s football season so we are sharing this photo of Charlie Leigh (1945-2006), an Albany High star athlete who signed an NFL contract straight out of high school. When this photo was taken, Leigh was a fullback with the Cleveland Browns who worked for Schaefer Brewing Company in the off-season. He was a member of the Miami Dolphins when they won the Super Bowl in 1973 and 1974. Learn more about Leigh’s football career https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCjlPhJalfs
[Charlie Leigh Lifting Keg, 1969, AIHA Purchase, LIB2020.32.1]
Is breakfast your favorite meal of the day?
Among the hundreds of pieces of paper in the time capsule that was found under the statue of Philip Schuyler was this 1925 breakfast menu from the Ten Eyck Hotel. You could spread guava jelly on your toast for 30¢ or start your day with a hearty dish of calf’s liver and bacon for 75¢.
Today is opening day for the exhibition The Time Capsule: What We Found Under Philip Schuyler. Stop by to see the treasures that were put in this copper box in 1925. You will be amazed.
Today is Wildlife Conservation Day.
Eighty-five years ago, Albany native Gertrude Lathrop designed a Conserve Wildlife medal. The artist’s love of nature and her concern for preserving wilderness and wildlife can be seen in the design. The obverse shows a wood duck preening among marsh grasses gone to seed. The reverse shows a kneeling, western pronghorn taking shelter behind a barrel cactus. Lathrop chose the wood duck because it was endangered by the draining of wetlands. She chose the pronghorn because by 1938, the only examples to be found lived on reservations.
[Conserve Wildlife Medal, Gertrude Lathrop, 1938, bronze, AIHA Purchase, 2004.18.2]
Looking for a beautiful wall calendar for next year? We created two featuring paintings from our collection. Stop by the museum store to pick one up. $26.95 each. Members get a 20% discount.
Not interested in the bustled dresses we posted yesterday? How about stripes to make you stand out during Victorian Stroll?
This striking two-piece ensemble features a dome or bell-shaped skirt that would have been supported by a cage crinoline, a new invention at the time.
[Green and White Striped Dress, unknown maker, silk with fringe, 1853-57, AIHA, gift of Joyce Rose Crossley, 1986.13.10AB]
125 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY
12210
| Wednesday | 10am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 10am - 5pm |
| Friday | 10am - 5pm |
| Saturday | 10am - 5pm |
| Sunday | 12pm - 5pm |
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Albany Institute of History & Art posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Send a message to Albany Institute of History & Art:
The Albany Institute is even better with music! Join us this Thursday at 5 pm for our second summer concert, Night at the Museum, featuring the Peg Delaney Trio! The concept and galleries will be open for free to the public, so tell a friend and come on by! The cash bar will be open as well, selling a five dollar signature cocktail, beer, and wine. #summerconcert #museum #discoveralbany
Who doesn't love a little #behindthescenes look? This sunny morning has inspired us to share one of our favorite parts of the Albany Institute of History & Art, the fireplaces of the historic Rice House! The Rice House holds event spaces, as well as administrative offices for museum staff. How would you like to have one of these fire places in your office? #museum #historichouse #museumlover
This week is #MuseumWeek and today museums are exploring the idea of #InnovationMW and access. We’ve recently started mapping our exhibits to offer as virtual visits, including The Four Elements of Leigh Li-Yun Wen: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=g28ANa7moa1 #AlbanyNY #technology
Today, we will be making “Grain” Osiris seed balls which can sprout into wildflowers as part of our Sprouting Spring activities (free and outdoors on the museum’s lawn from 12-3pm). The project is inspired by a grain mummy, recently gifted to the museum and on view now in the Ancient Egyptian galleries. The celebration of Khoiak, which took place at the end of the annual Nile flood, was a very important religious festival in later periods of ancient Egyptian history. Figures of the god of the dead, Osiris, were made of mud and grain and would sprout like a “chia pet” and symbolize the god’s resurrection and the hopes for a bountiful harvest.
Boo! 🎃 The museum is open today from 10am-5pm. Plan your visit on our website: https://www.albanyinstitute.org #AlbanyNY #DowntownAlbany #Pumpkin #HalloweenWeekend
Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute of History & Art is New York’s oldest museum. Visitors enjoy exhibitions that range from colonial history to contemporary art. The museum is best known for its Hudson River School collection and the “Albany mummies.” Visit our website for current exhibitions, special events, family programs, lectures, art classes, and more.
University Art Museum, University at Albany
Washington Avenue
