New York State Museum Exhibits

1609 (7/3/2009 - 3/7/2010)

Two worlds collided in 1609 when Henry Hudson and the Dutch sailed up the "great river" and met the Native People of New York. This exhibition introduces visitors to information about Henry Hudson, Native People of New York, and the Dutch period in New York state by dispelling some commonly held myths and showing the legacy these groups left to the residents of the state and the nation. The New York State Museum collaborated with the State Archives, State Library, and Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting on 1609, and these institutions provided additional expertise, documents, and artifacts for the exhibition. Archaeologist James Bradley, an expert on Native Americans, Russell Shorto, an authority on colonial Dutch history, and Steven Comer, a Mohican Indian living within the original territory of the Mohican people, consulted on the project. The exhibition also features paintings by Capital District historical artist L. F. Tantillo. This exhibition was organized by the New York State Museum, New York State Archives, and New York State Library. See the online feature created for this exhibition.

Berenice Abbott's Changing New York: A Triumph of Public Art (6/13/2009 - 1/3/2010)

In 1929, after eight years in Europe, photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) returned to New York City. She was inspired by its dramatic transformation. New construction was everywhere; hundreds of 19th-century buildings had been torn down to make way for dozens of skyscrapers. She was determined to capture this momentous change in photographs. In 1935, with the support of the Federal Art Project, Abbott was able to devote her full energies to creating what she called, "Changing New York." By 1940, she had completed a collectionconsidered to be one of the monumental achievements of 20th-century photography. This exhibition features the New York State Museum's 40 original prints from "Changing New York," with additional images from the Museum of the City of New York. Commentary has been provided by Bonnie Yochelson, an authority on Abbott's epic project. See the online feature created for this exhibition.

Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography from George Eastman House Collection (2/12/2010 - 5/9/2010)

This traveling exhibition from the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, presents photographic masterpieces that capture historic and contemporary moments in American history. The exhibition represents more than 150 years of photography, with images by such photographers as Ansel Adams, Mathew B. Brady, Alvin Langdon Coburn, Dorothea Lange, Eli Reed, Alfred Stieglitz, and manyothers. The photographs are grouped according to the categories American Masterpieces, American Faces, America at War, America the Beautiful, and American Families, and key works in these groups document the American cultural experience. Through this diverse collection of visual images, the exhibition addresses the impact of photography on the nation.

The Science and Art of Birds of New York (1/30/2010 - 9/6/2010)

This exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the publication of Birds of New York, one of the most popular books issued in the State Museum's history. The exhibition features dozens of original watercolors made for the book by famed bird artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes, as well as the first edition of Birds of New York, a portfolio of prints, and specimens from the Museum's ornithology collection.

"This Great Nation Will Endure" Photographs of the Great Depression (10/01/2009 - 3/14/2010)

Curated and designed by staff at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, this traveling exhibition features more than 150 images of America taken between 1935 and 1942 by the legendary photographic unit of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). The FSA was a New Deal agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help farmers and farm laborers who were confronting economic depression and natural disaster, including the ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl. A remarkable group of photographers were employed, including Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Ben Shan, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein, Carl Mydans, Russell Lee, John Vachon, Marion Post Walcott, and Jack Delano, and their work constitutes a monumental record of life in the United States at the time. Many of these images have reached iconic status, collectively confirming President Roosevelt's bold assertion in his first inaugural address, delivered at the lowest point in the Great Depression: "This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper … the only thing we have to fear is fear itself … ." The prints included in the exhibition were produced in 2004 from negatives in the FSA collection at the Library of Congress.

Bank of America Great Art Series: Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art (9/8/2009 - 1/6/2010)

What does American art tell us about American attitudes toward race? Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art explores the complicated issues surrounding race in American culture as seen in paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries. This exhibition juxtaposes 19th-century views of American life with contemporary interpretations by prominent African American artists to examine how we, as Americans, have constructed and interpreted race. Many of the art works and artifacts were amassed by 19th-century collector Stephen C. Clark and the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Additional selections were culled from various public and private collections, including the New York State Museum. Through the Eyes of Others: African Americans and Identity in American Art is organized by the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and curated by Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, director and Distinguished Professor of the Cooperstown Graduate Program. The exhibition, the latest exhibition in the Bank of America Great Art Series, is made possible in part with funding from The Institute for Museum and Library Services.