This Week @ MHS

Hello, and welcome once again to our weekly forecast of programs here at the Society. This week, the first and only full week in November for us at the MHS, we have four public programs for you to come in and experience. In addition, don't forget about our current public exhibition: "The Cabinetmaker & the Carver: Massachusetts Furniture from Private Collections." This installation provides a rare public glimpse of privately held treasures from across the commonwealth and is part of the Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture collaboration taking place at institutions all over the state. Visit fourcenturies.org for more information. Our exhibit is open to the public six days per week, Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM, and will be available until 17 January 2014. 

On Tuesday, 19 November, join us at 12:00PM for an hour-long lunchtime public program. Murray Forbes discusses his work on the fascinating lives of Governor James and General John Sullivan in "The Sullivan Brothers." The two brothers forged remarkable and versatile careers during the American Revolution and early republic, were honored in their own time and remained remembered and respected through the 19th century. How should we remember them today? This event is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, 20 November, the Society hosts a double-header. First up, at 12:00PM, is a Brown Bag lunch talk featuring John Lauritz Larson of Purdue University. "On a Bender with Uncle Sam: Freedom, Resources, and the Lure of Progress in the Early Republic" asks how the American Revolution changed the colonial American economic culture patterns of natural resource exploitation. How did the "release of energy" produced by the new political order contribute to new definitions of public and private acquisitiveness, wealth, and progress. Brown Bag lunch talks are free and open to the public.

Then, also on Wednesday, is a public program associated with our current exhibition. Join us at 6:00PM for "Boston & Its Craft Community, 1650-1850." J. Ritchie Garrison, Director of the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, will explore Boston's craft community with a focus on three themes: production as part of a regional network, inequalities that drove artisans' decisions, and the city's furniture-makers' adaptations to a number of factors. To Register: Tickets are $10 per person (no charge for Fellows and Members). Please call 617-646-0560 or register online by clicking here. Pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM.

And lastly, on Saturday, 23 November, the Society will host yet another public tour. Join us at 10:00AM for "The History and Collections of the MHS," 90-minute docent-led tour which explores the public space in the Society's home at 1154 Boylston Street, touching on the history, collections, art, and architecture of the MHS. 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.

Please note that the MHS will be closed 28 November - 30 November for the Thanksgiving holiday. Normal hours resume on Monday, 2 December.