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For Immediate Release April 22, 2004 Contact: Travis Stewart (212) 873-3400, ext. 263

ALEXANDER : THE MAN WHO MADE MODERN AMERICA August 28, 2004 – February 28, 2005 With “The Duel”, a special preview installation on view July 2-18, 2004

July 11, 2004 is the bicentenary of the fatal duel between and Aaron Burr. November, 20, 2004 marks the 200 th anniversary of a quieter historic event that took place a few months later: the founding of the New-York Historical Society. In commemoration of both, the New-York Historical Society is pleased to announce an ambitious new exhibition, education curriculum and public program series entitled Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America . This keystone of the New-York Historical Society’s 2004 bicentennial activities will launch August 28, 2004 and be on view at the Society’s Central Park West headquarters through February 28, 2005. “The Duel”, a special “prequel” installation highlighting the duel itself will be on view July 2-18, 2004.

Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was more responsible for the shape of modern America than any of the other Founding Fathers. “As first Treasury Secretary, planner of , and adviser to George , Hamilton had a career fit for Mount Rushmore,” said exhibition co-curator Richard Brookhiser , author of Alexander Hamilton: American , “Born poor and illegitimate in the Caribbean, hated by and , loved by women—including his wife—and killed in a duel by the Vice President of the , Hamilton had a life fit for tabloids.” Hamilton was also creator of the Bank of the United States (forerunner of the Federal Reserve), founder of the Bank of New York and of the .

Under the direction of Professor James Basker, Project Director; Historian Curator Mr. Brookhiser; and N-YHS guest curator Mina Rieur Weiner, Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America is being designed by the world renowned firm of Ralph Appelbaum Association, designers of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Constitution Center, and others. The exhibition brings together for the first time paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, decorative arts, manuscripts, printed books, memorabilia and audiovisual materials from The New-York Historical Society, with selected items from the Gilder Lehrman Collection , the Museum of the City of New York, the Library of Congress, the Bank of New York and other distinguished institutions and archives. Among the significant materials on view will be the pistols used by Hamilton and Burr in their famous and fatal duel, original copies of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence and rare manuscripts of Hamilton and his contemporaries.

Accompanied by a rich menu of public programs (including lectures, films, tours and panel discussions), the project will also reach out to a broad public with an ambitious school program, a touring version of the exhibition, a Web site, and an educational CD-ROM.

The New-York Historical Society, located at West 77th Street and Central Park West, is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, 10a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for students and seniors. For general information, the public can call (212) 873-3400 or check the N-YHS website: www.nyhistory.org.

Programs at The New-York Historical Society are made possible in part with public funds from the Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. American Airlines is the official airline of The New-York Historical Society. WNYC Radio is The New-York Historical Society’s valued media sponsor for the 2003-2004 season.

PRESS IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE. PRESS CONTACT: Travis Stewart (212) 873-3400, ext. 263