The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly
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VOLUME XXXII The Historic New Orleans NUMBER 1 Collection Quarterly WINTER 2015 Shop online at www.hnoc.org/shop THE URSULINE MANUSCRIPT: Spiritual Songbook EVENT CALENDAR EXHIBITIONS & TOURS CREOLE CHRISTMAS PURCHASED LIVES CURRENT HOUSE TOURS TEACHER WORKSHOP Andrew Jackson: Hero of New Orleans Tour THNOC’s Williams Residence and The Collection invites teachers to Through March 29, 2015 other historic French Quarter house participate in a free workshop presented Williams Gallery, 533 Royal Street museums, festively decked out for the by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of Free season, as part of the Friends of the American History and THNOC. Studio, Street, Self: Photographic Portraits Cabildo’s annual holiday home tour. Saturday, March 7, 2015, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. from THNOC December 27–28, 2014, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street Presented in conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2014 718 Toulouse Street Please email Daphne L. Derven, Through February 28, 2015 Tickets are available through Friends of [email protected], to register for the Boyd Cruise Gallery, 410 Chartres Street the Cabildo, (504) 523-3939. teacher/educator mailing list and to Free receive more information about this event. POP-UP BRITISH CONSULATE MirrorFugue: Reflections of New Orleans Pianists Stop in for tea and say hello to the staff of THE IRISH IN NEW ORLEANS Presented in conjunction with Prospect.3+ and the British Consulate General in Houston, LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING made possible by Phyllis M. Taylor as they present their first pop-up Historian Laura D. Kelley, author of Through December 20 consulate. a new book about the historical and Laura Simon Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art, January 6–9, 2014, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. cultural legacy of Ireland in New 400 Chartres Street Orleans, will present a lecture, with a 533 Royal Street Free book signing to follow. Free Saturday, March 7, 2015, 6–8 p.m. PERMANENT WILLIAMS RESEARCH CENTER 533 Royal Street Louisiana History Galleries SYMPOSIUM Free 533 Royal Street See more about the symposium on page 12. Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. PURCHASED LIVES Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. January 23–24, 2015 OPENING RECEPTION Free Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal Street Join The Collection and Curator Erin M. To register, visit www.hnoc.org Greenwald for the opening of THNOC’s The Williams Residence Tour /programs/symposia.html or call newest exhibition, Purchased Lives: New THNOC Architectural Tour (504) 523-4662. Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 533 Royal Street 1808–1865. Tuesday–Saturday, 10 and 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. MUSICAL LOUISIANA: Friday, March 20, 2015, 6–8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m AMERICA’S CULTURAL Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres $5 per person HERITAGE Street Groups of eight or more should call (504) 598-7145 For their ninth annual concert Free collaboration, The Collection and the for reservations or visit www.hnoc.org. Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will TO BE SOLD DOMESTIC UPCOMING present “New Orleans and the Spanish SLAVE TRADE SYMPOSIUM Williams Residence Holiday Home and See more about the symposium on page 11. World,” a program celebrating the rich Courtyard Tour cultural and musical relations between Saturday, March 21, 2015, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. 533 Royal Street Spain and Louisiana. Williams Research Center, Through December 29, 2014 Wednesday, February 4, 2015, 7:30 p.m. 410 Chartres Street Tuesday–Saturday, 10 and 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. St. Louis Cathedral, 615 Pere Antoine Alley Free; registration required Sunday, 11 a.m., 2 and 3 p.m. To reserve a seat for the program in Free $5 per person; free for THNOC members New Orleans, contact THNOC at THNOC is closed December 24–25. (504)523-4662 or email [email protected]. Recent Acquisitions in Louisiana Art, 2010–2014 January 10–May 2, 2015 GENERAL HOURS Laura Simon Nelson Galleries for Louisiana Art, 533 Royal Street 400 Chartres Street Williams Gallery, Louisiana History Galleries, Shop, and Tours Free Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic 400 and 410 Chartres Street Slave Trade, 1808–1865 Williams Research Center, Boyd Cruise Gallery, and Laura Simon Nelson Galleries March 17–July 18, 2015 for Louisiana Art Boyd Cruise Gallery, 410 Chartres Street Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Free D The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly ON THE COVER: “Le soleil heraut de sa gloire” (The herald sun of his glory) from the Ursuline manuscript copy of Nouvelles poésies spirituelles et morales 1736; manuscript sheet music 98-001-RL.58. CONTENTS ON VIEW/ 2 THNOC trains its lens on photographic portraiture. FROM THE DIRECTOR Recent acquisitions in Louisiana art get a showcase. History is often thought of as a one-way street, with narratives and facts presented A one-of-a-kind musical installation takes to the public without room for discussion. But ask any history lover, scholar, or up residence. museum professional, and you’ll learn that collaboration and colloquy are treasured, Off-Site essential components of the history-making process. Every year, THNOC hosts the Williams Research Center Symposium, which BOOKS/ 8 brings together our curators, our audience, and history experts from around the Louisiana’s oldest known musical artifact country to discuss the finer points and complexities of New Orleans and Gulf becomes a book. South history. This promises to be a banner year for the event as we continue to commemorate the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans. Those interested in EVENTS/ 11 the far-reaching history of the War of 1812 and of Andrew Jackson’s impact on THNOC examines the history of the this nation will have much to discuss throughout the two-day symposium, which domestic slave trade. accompanies the current exhibition Andrew Jackson: Hero of New Orleans. The 2015 WRC Symposium honors the Then, in March, The Collection will cohost a daylong symposium on the bicentennial of the Battle of New Orleans. domestic slave trade. Presented in collaboration with the Library of Virginia, based in Richmond, this exciting day of thoughtful discussion will help to launch COMMUNITY/ 14 THNOC’s exhibition Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, On the Job 1808–1865. We are honored to be fostering public dialogue on historical issues that Staff News continue to impact our region. Become a Member In other news, I am delighted to congratulate Alfred E. Lemmon, director of the Williams Research Center, on his recent induction into the Orden de Isabel On the Scene la Católica (Order of Isabella the Catholic), a Spanish royal order honoring those Focus on Philanthropy who have contributed greatly to furthering friendship and cooperation between Donors Spain and the international community. Lemmon and The Collection will be surveying New Orleans’s Spanish ties at our upcoming concert with the Louisiana ACQUISITIONS/ 21 Philharmonic Orchestra. With this and all of our events, we hope to engage our Acquisition Spotlight audience in the history we all share. —PRISCILLA LAWRENCE Recent Additions ON VIEW About Face The Collection’s newest exhibition, presented in conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2014, traces 175 years of photographic portraiture. A EXHIBITION Whether the purpose was documentary or expressive, capturing a human likeness with the Studio, Street, Self: Photographic camera has been a longstanding role of photography. A portrait is a collaboration between Portraits from The Historic New Orleans subject and photographer, one modulated by the circumstances of the setting. Each vari- Collection able helps to shape the final product, giving even the most similar-looking portraits a humanity as individual as their subjects. Studio, Street, Self: Photographic Portraits from Through February 28, 2015 The Historic New Orleans Collection, now on view at the Williams Research Center’s Boyd Boyd Cruise Gallery, 410 Chartres Street Cruise Gallery in conjunction with the citywide photography festival PhotoNOLA, offers Free an expansive view of portrait photography as it has existed in New Orleans and its environs for more than 175 years. The exhibition includes photographs made both in formal studio settings and out in the street, as well as self-portraits. A photographer’s studio offers the greatest control over the setting and was a mainstay of early photographic practice, especially once more refined lenses and chemistry afforded an exposure time that did not exceed the sitter’s ability to stay still. The early studios’ posing chairs, props, and skylights later yielded to seamless backgrounds and an arsenal of specialized lighting equipment. Street settings add an element of chance, from serendipitous juxtapositions of subject and background to effects of light and shadow. In street photographs, the skills of the artist intersect with surroundings that are presented rather than wholly selected. Self-portraits are a different breed of photographic portrait, embodying an implicit process of introspec- tion—and perhaps an element of vanity. Such portraits often literally hold a mirror up to the subject, sometimes incorporating partially transparent or distorted reflections. Many 2 The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly photographers have found the shadow self-portrait an intriguing and expressive form; A. Idelle Gatling, Gospel Singer, New Orleans others have used a remote means of triggering the exposure, such as a timer, once they 1971; gelatin silver print have assumed a pose. by Luke Fontana © Luke Fontana, 2009.0088.3 In an age of endless photo streams and selfies, accessible from one’s pocket and disseminated with the tap of a finger,Studio, Street, Self honors a more deliberate pace B.