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Special Insert:
Sunday, May 4, 4:00 p.m. at the Concord Museum,
Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA

The Concord Museum and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association present
Christopher Lydon on Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Global Consciousness: A Culture Trying to Happen.

For Lydon, "the great Emerson knew not of the Genome or the
Internet, but still he envisioned the global truth of a single species
with a connected culture. We are all catching up with Emerson the
democrat, the student of Brahmin philosophy, the correspondent with
European intellectuals, the man with a steady understanding of a
universal spirit in and among the amazing varieties of life. Add Emerson,
and all the new global science and machinery almost make
sense."

Christopher Lydon, a distinctive voice in print, television and radio
journalism for more than 30 years, covered the McGovern, Humphrey, Reagan
and Carter presidential campaigns, anchored public television news on
WGBH and hosted "The Connection," on WBUR Boston and 75 public
stations around the country. In the past year in Jamaica, West Africa and
Southeast Asia, he has been developing a new local-global conversation
for broadcast and internet transmission.

$15, by reservation (978) 369-9763. Space is limited, reserve as
early as possible.
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Concord, MA/  As part of the year-long recognition of the bicentennial of the birth of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) with activities planned in Boston, Cambridge and Concord, the Concord Museum is pleased to announce a new exhibition that will give visitors a privileged, inside look at an icon of American letters that is perhaps without parallel  - the Study of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson enjoyed an international reputation in his lifetime as the leading light among American intellectuals. The thinkers that he gathered around him in Concord made that small town the center of the Transcendentalist movement in the 1840s; generations of travelers and students subsequently made a special pilgrimage to visit the always-welcoming “sage of Concord.” The center of this activity in Emerson’s home was the Study.  He worked there and entertained a steady stream of visitors  American and foreign, famous and infamous, and obscure  for forty years. Children especially were given a warm welcome, a tour of favorite paintings and sculpture and a pencil and paper for drawing. 

Exhibited at the Concord Museum since 1930 courtesy of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association, the original furnishings of the Emerson Study still draw visitors from around the world.  The Museum has embarked on a project to restore the Emerson Study to its appearance in 1873.  In January 2003, as part of that renovation process, the Museum will open a new exhibition, Emerson and His Study: An Inside Look, which will examine some of the Study’s most significant furnishings, paintings and prints, and offer an intimate, up-close look at a place “made pleasant by pictures and sunshine.”  At the same time, visitors will be able to watch the work in progress in the Study; with the addition of wallpaper and carpet, the Study will be returned for the first time since 1930 to its appearance during Emerson’s lifetime. 

Emerson and His Study serves as an ideal starting point for visitors to understand Emerson and his world.  Included in the exhibition will be:
·       The rocking chair branded by New Ipswich, N.H., chairmaker Abijah Wetherbee. In the only known photograph of Emerson in his study, he is seated in this favored chair.
·       A painting of goldenrod and asters by May Alcott, sister of Louisa May Alcott, given as a Christmas gift to Emerson
·       The painting of “The Three Fates” painted by William Allen Wall after the sixteenth-century original in the Pitti Palace, Florence.  Wall traveled with Emerson in Europe in 1833 and gave him this painting when he returned to America.
·       The horsehair sofa that welcomed many a visitor to the Study, including Daniel Webster, Louis Agassiz, John Brown and Oliver Wendell Holmes, then tripped many of them as they took their leave.
·       Books off the study’s shelves including works of  Plato and Carlyle and Wordsworth’s Poems, presented by Emerson to his brother with notations drawing his attention to favorite poems.

Emerson and His Study: An Inside Look opens to the public on Saturday, January 25, 2003 and runs through April 6th. A full calendar of associated programs for adults and children will accompany the exhibition:
 

Gallery Talks

January 26
Join David Wood, Concord Museum Curator, for an informal gallery talk in the exhibition, Emerson and His Study.  2:00 pm; Free with admission, members free; followed by refreshments.
 

Tea and More

February 9   
The Nineteenth-Century Language of  Flowers, Fans and Calling Cards.
Donna and Ron Lasko, nationally-acclaimed lecturers and tea consultants bring to life the rituals of 19^th-century etiquette and the art of communication through lively discussion and fascinating history, accompanied by their own signature blend of Courtship Tea.  2:00-4:00; $30; $25 Members; get a group together to enjoy this delightful experience; by reservation (call early as space is limited). 
 

February 12
“…endlessly varied and miscellaneous discourses”
In conjunction with the Bicentennial celebration of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s birth and the Concord Museum’s exhibition, Emerson and His Study:  An Inside Look, you are invited to join us for a discussion on visitors to Emerson’s study.  Guest presenters from other cultural sites and members of the Concord Museum’s staff will paint a picture of life in 19^th-century Concord and Boston while discussing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Daniel Webster, John Murray Forbes, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Oliver Wendell Holmes, all visitors to the study.  What was it that drew these men to Emerson and what kinds of discussion were likely to take place in his study?  These and other questions will be discussed while enjoying coffee, tea and sweets.  1:00  2:30; $20; Member discounts available; call Concord-Carlisle Adult and Community Education (978) 318-1540 for reservations.
 

March 12  
“…the influence of good women”
In conjunction with the Bicentennial celebration of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s birth and the Concord Museum’s exhibition, Emerson and His Study:  An Inside Look, you are invited to a discussion on women in Emerson’s life.  Join us for a closer look at Margaret Fuller, Lydian Emerson, Ellen Tucker Emerson, Elizabeth Hoar, Annie Fields and Mary Moody Emerson, just a few of the “bright, elegant, reading women” who were part of Emerson’s life.  Who were these women and why were they a part of Emerson’s life?  A panel of guest presenters engages in fascinating conversation accompanied by coffee, tea and sweets.  1:00  2:30; $20; Member discounts available; call Concord-Carlisle Adult and Community Education (978) 318-1540 for reservations.
 

March 6
Images of Hearth and Home: The Influence of 19^th-Cenutry New England Poets
Jane C. Nylander, President Emerita of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, presents the annual Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture, examining perceptions of domestic life in “olden times” through the work of Emerson, Longfellow, Melville, Jewett, Hawthorne and others.  1:00 pm; an elegant tea follows the lecture; $24, $20 Members; reserve early as space is limited.
 

2003 Thoreau Lecture Series: Inspired Minds, Inspiring Places

Co-sponsored by the Concord Museum, The Thoreau Society and The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods and presented this year in honor of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 200^th birthday.  7:30 pm; at the Museum; donations accepted at the door; refreshments served.

January 16

Women and Reform in Emerson’s Town:  The Concord Female Antislavery Society, Dr. Sandra Petrulionis Associate Professor of English, Pennsylvania State University. 

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March 6

The Transcendentalists and Their World, Dr. Robert Gross, Mellon Distinguished Scholar in Residence, American Antiquarian Society. 

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March 27

“As Soon as the Blood is Up”:  Emersonian Conversation and Where It Ends, Sarah Wider, Professor of English, Colgate University. 

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Specially for Children

Listen, My Children… A Museum Story Hour
January 24:  Stories about children who visited Mr. Emerson in his Study

 

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February 28: Henry Builds a Cabin by D.B. Johnson; A wonderful story about Mr. Emerson’s friend Henry Thoreau and his house at Walden Pond. 

March 28: Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile by Tomie dePaola; Did you know that Mr. Emerson visited Egypt in 1873 and kept remembrances of his trip in his Study?

Offered the fourth Friday of every month, October through May, 1:00-2:00, for children ages 3-5 with an adult.  $7 child, $5 member child; accompanying adult free; snack and a book related activity included.  Funded in part by Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Creatures, Critters & Creativity
February 19
From Eric Carle and Jane Yolen to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Rachael Carson, many famous writers draw inspiration from the natural world. Now you can too! Join award-winning children's author Melissa Stewart for a day of outdoor adventure, discovery, and creativity.  Explore the woods surrounding The Old Manse, which inspired both Emerson and Thoreau, to get a closer look at creatures hibernating under rotting logs, search for animal tracks in the snow, and collect a variety of interesting natural objects.  Enjoy a walk to the Concord Museum where Melissa will share samples of her works in-progress and her writing secrets.  After lunch (provided by participant), you'll learn to see and describe the objects you've collected in a whole new way. Finally, each person will create a story based on a natural object and share it with the group. Co-sponsored by The Old Manse, a property of The Trustees of Reservations, and the Concord Museum.  Snack, drinks and dessert provided.  11:00-2:30; for children ages 9 and up; $25; $20 for Members of the Concord Museum or The Trustees; by reservation (sign up early as space is limited). 

CONCORD MUSEUM GENERAL ADMISSION: $7 adults, $6 seniors (62 & over), $6 students with valid ID, $3 children, Family rate of $16 available, Members Free. MUSEUM HOURS: Beginning January 6-March 31: Monday-Saturday 11-4, Sunday 1-4; April-December: Monday-Saturday 9-5, Sunday 12-5 (Sundays in June, July and August, 9-5).  The Concord Museum is located in historic Concord, Massachusetts at the intersection of Lexington Road and Cambridge Turnpike.  The Museum is wheelchair accessible and has ample free parking on Cambridge Turnpike.  For further information contact the Concord Museum at (978) 369-9609 (Taped information). E-mail: cm1@concordmuseum.org; Web site:  www.concordmuseum.org

 

Carol Haines
Public Relations Officer
Concord Museum
200 Lexington Road
Concord, MA 01742
clhaines@concordmuseum.org
(978) 369-9763