The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md., begins its “Highlights from A Broad Reach: 50 Years of Collecting” Fall Speaker Series on October 15 and continues the series through November 19, 2015. In this five-part series, a selection of rare objects—which are all featured in the Museum’s 50th anniversary exhibition and are part of CBMM’s permanent collection—will be explored in depth through a series of speakers. All sessions take place in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium, with advanced registration needed, as seating is limited.
On Thursday, October 15, 2015 from 10-11:30 a.m., “Exploring the Life and Work of Talbot County Artist Ruth Starr Rose” will be led by art historian and creative designer Barbara Paca, who is guest curator for the Reginald F. Lewis Museum’s special exhibition, “Ruth Starr Rose (1887-1965): Revelations of African American Life in Maryland and the World.” Rose, who spent most of her life at Talbot County’s Hope House, was an early 20th century artist with a social conscience. A chronicler of life in the African–American communities of Maryland’ Eastern Shore, Rose’s intimate sketches, paintings, and lithographs bore witness to the culture and traditions of day-to-day life in Unionville and Copperville. Rose’s lithograph “Crab Pickers in St. Michaels” will be featured in Paca’s talk.
On Thursday, October 22 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., CBMM Boatyard Manager Michael Gorman will discuss CBMM’s log built boats and their stewardship in “Old Technologies, New Technologies: A Stewardship Strategy for the bugeye Edna E. Lockwood.” From the search for large, old growth pine trees to the construction of the newest sailing log canoe Bufflehead, Gorman will explore how new technologies and traditional techniques combine to shape the restoration of the nine-log bugeye Edna Lockwood in 2016.
“Exploring the Life and Work of Chesapeake Photographer A. Aubrey Bodine” takes place from 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, when participants will explore the photography, life, and work of Chesapeake photographer A. Aubrey Bodine with University of Maryland Baltimore County Chief Curator, Tom Beck. Bodine—a Baltimore Sun photographer for 50 years—remains well-known for his signature maritime views of the Chesapeake Bay and the painterly attention to composition, line, and atmosphere in his images. His photography documented a period of great change in the Chesapeake, as the last years of the Bay’s era of sail concluded. Beck will also discuss a highlight of the Museum’s collections, a Bodine photograph, The Clam Rakers.
On Wednesday, November 11 beginning at 5 p.m., speaker series participants will join CBMM Chief Curator Pete Lesher to explore “Rambles on Rita—an 1898 Naphtha Yacht Cruises the Chesapeake,” which covers the vividly illustrated late-19th century yacht logbook that is one of the highlights of CBMM’s Broad Reach exhibition. The log—which includes exquisite watercolors created by the owner’s artist friends while onboard Rita—provides a window into the Chesapeake’s charms and challenges of swimming, fishing, and landscapes. Lesher will also discuss the log book’s greater historical context from race relations to the Spanish-American War.
On Thursday, November 19 beginning at 10 a.m., participants will join CBMM Chief Curator Pete Lesher for “Steamboat Days-Capturing an Era on Film” as he narrates excerpts from a rare silent film depicting Virginia and Maryland’s steamboat era. The remarkable film—a highlight of the Museum’s collection—brings the world of the late 19th century Chesapeake to vivid life, with scenes taken by steamboat company officer Herman Hollerith, Jr. Lesher will provide a broader context for the film and show how it provides insight into the final decades of steam transportation on the Bay, connecting rural communities to urban centers at Norfolk, Baltimore, and Washington.
With artifacts ranging from gilded eagles to a sailmaker’s sewing machine, a log-built bugeye to an intimate scene of crabpickers, A Broad Reach: 50 Years of Collecting is a new major exhibition of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum featuring 50 significant objects that have been accessioned into the museum’s collection over its first 50 years, and is accompanied by a commemorative catalogue available for purchase at shop.cbmm.org. The exhibition continues through February 28, 2016 only.
The cost for a session is $6 for CBMM members and $8 for non-members, with savings on registering for all five sessions at $25 for CBMM members, and $35 for non-members. To register, contact 410-745-4941 or [email protected]. For more information, visit www.cbmm.org.
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