Category: Decorative Arts
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Untamed Spirits… Cooperstown Bound
1–2 minutes·
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On a recent rainy weekend we let our wanderlust direct us and headed to one of our favorite places to visit, Cooperstown, New York. Since it was just a quick trip we centered on the gem of the town (in our opinion) and wandered the Fenimore Art Museum. The next trip will have to include…
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Electra’s Things
1–2 minutes·
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Across Lake Champlain from here lies an amazing collection started by Electra Havemeyer Webb (August 16, 1888 – November 19, 1960) and opened as a museum in 1947. Shelburne Museum is located on what once was Electra’s in-laws farm in Vermont. Electra married an heir to the Vanderbilt fortune and spent many happy days at their…
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True Character
3–4 minutes·
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There were many distinguished visitors who came to enjoy the tranquil setting Alice and William Miner created during the heyday of Heart’s Delight Farm in Chazy. Many of these visitors signed guest books with eloquent messages. One such visitor was James Buchanan Brady. Perhaps you will know him better by his nickname, Diamond Jim. Diamond…
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Engineer as Artist in 1588
When it comes to books we all have our preferences… I appreciate a story that draws me in so fully that I forget to eat dinner. And, as a visual artist, I am naturally enticed by drawings and prints. Since my first summer on the job, one of my favorite books here at The Alice…
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Lena’s Crazy Quilt
3–4 minutes·
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Over the 87 years The Alice has operated as a museum there have been times when interesting objects and letters came into the collection as donations or bequests. The museum has become a repository for genealogy and local history information as well as for some objects and textiles donated by local families. It is a…
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Perks of the Job
One of my roles as a museum director is to oversee the process of conservation of the Alice’s collection. This requires looking at priorities designated by a conservator who surveyed our objects years ago as well as heeding the recommendations of our collections committee in light of the inherent value of the objects to the…
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In Raptures…
Being a big fan of Jane Austen, I recently re-read Pride and Prejudice… Then my sister gave me a copy of another entertaining tale, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. While working diligently on my table, a quote from that book stated by Miss Bingley in Chapter 10 keeps popping into my head (in a faux English accent,…
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Mandala
4–5 minutes·
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[muhn-dl-uh]–noun 1. In Oriental art… a schematized representation of the cosmos, chiefly characterized by a concentric configuration of geometric shapes, each of which contains an image of a deity or an attribute of a deity. 2. In Jungian psychology… a symbol representing the effort to reunify the self. The Arms & Legs Auction is an engaging…
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Magnificent Hearst Castle
4–6 minutes·
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Imagine a palace filled with wonderful artwork from foreign lands, incredibly detailed and ornate tile work, opulent swimming pools surrounded by graceful figurative sculptures – all placed in the lovely setting of rolling hills stretching down to the Pacific Ocean. It was built in the 1920s-1940s, and is an achievement that will never be equaled,…
Wander Artist & Tabula Rasa Studio 