Stoddard Exhibit: Adirondack Interiors
     November 13 -- April 30
Linen tablecloths, folded napkins, selections of fine cigars… and mounted deer heads? These items do belong together, in the setting of the Adirondack lodgings photographed by Seneca Ray Stoddard. This new exhibit will feature glimpses into the interiors of the hotels and inns that flourished in northern New York during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. While offering a light-hearted view of Victorian “rustic” décor, these fascinating images speak also of the lifestyle enjoyed by the wealthy of the period and their penchant for maintaining a level of comfort and control amidst the wildness of the Adirondack mountains.

All Cordially Invited: Entertainment in the North Country, 1850 -1920
     April 23 - October 18, 2009
What did people in Glens Falls and other communities in the North Country do for entertainment before TV? The Chapman Historical Museum’s summer 2009 exhibit, All Cordially Invited, will explore forms of entertainment from 1850, when most North Country communities were quite isolated, through 1920 when the automobile and the radio radically changed how people socialized.

In the 19th century the ball or dance was a popular form of entertainment that drew people together, often to support a local cause. Other social gatherings included lectures, picnics, revival meetings, clam roasts, excursions and ice cream socials. Later, railroads brought the circus and Wild West shows to town. Agricultural fairs, baseball games and horse tracks attracted crowds of spectators. People also experienced such new forms of entertainment as vaudeville acts and nickelodeons -- to be replaced by movie houses. Soon to follow in the 20th century was the radio, which with the automobile ended the region’s isolation, changing social customs as it did.

Funded by grants from the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, the New York Council for the Humanities, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

All Cordially Invited is planned in conjunction with the Hyde Collection’s Season of Degas. From July 12 to October 18, 2009, The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York will present Degas & Music, an exclusive exhibition devoted to the music-inspired works of French Impressionist Edgar Degas (1834-1917). To enhance the experience of regional visitors and tourists alike, The Hyde Collection is collaborating with area arts and community organizations to present a full summer/fall calendar of Degas-related events. The Season schedule will include exhibits, musical performances, lectures, and family events complementing the Degas exhibition.