This Week @ MHS

This week at the Society we have three events for public consumption, consisting of a tour, a seminar, and plenty of furniture.

Starting on Wednesday, 23 October, the MHS plays host to another public program that is part of the Massachusetts Furniture Series. Beginning at 6:00PM, "'Newest Fashion' Furniture in Boston, 1690-1730: A Transatlantic View," is a program that explores how the influx of English cabinetmakers an chairmakers and the fashionable desires of a new Boston elite combined to transform the furniture trade in Boston in the period after the establishment of the new Charter in 1691. The talk is presented by Edward S. Cooke, Jr., the Charles F. Montgomery Professor of American Decorative Arts in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University, who has published extensively on both historical and contemporary furniture and was a former curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and taught at Boston University. There is a pre-talk reception at 5:30PM. Registration is required for this event and tickets are $10 per person (no charge for Fellows and Members). Please call 617-646-0560 or register online by clicking here.

And on Thursday, 24 October, join us for the next in the Biography Seminar series. "Telling Lives: Megan Marshall Interviews George E. Vaillant about the Harvard Graduate Study" will begin at 5:30PM and is free and open to the public. For more than three years, Vaillant, of the Harvard Medical School, directed the longitudinal study known as the Harvard Grant Study. His recent book, Triumphs of Experience, traces the men's lives into their nineties. Marshall's interview will look at the art of writing case studies and the implications for biographers of his finding on human development through the life course. RSVP required for this seminar. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

Finally, on Saturday, 26 October, stop by at 10:00AM for The History and Collections of the MHS. This 90-minute, docent-led tour exposes visitors to all of the public space in the building at 1154 Boylston St., touching on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

And do not forget that we currently have a major exhibition on display, "The Cabinetmaker & the Carver:Boston Furniture from Private Collections." The exhibit is open to the public six days per week, Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Visit fourcenturies.org to see more information about the major collaboration of which this exhibition is a part.