The Magazine of the New York VOL. 6 • NO. 1 State Museum SUMMER 2010 INSIDE: A New Exhibition Mountain’ Gorilla of NYS Landscapes PAGE 9 New York’s Coyote The Colonial Albany Social History Project Karner Blue Butterfly Thank you for making the New York State Museum More than 750,000 visitors learn and discover at the New York State Museum each year. These visitors have a significant economic impact on No. 1! the region, according to a recent study by the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Visitors to the State Museum and the 21 other cultural “Best Museum” and “Best Museum for Kids” • and historic attractions participating in the survey in the Times Union’s 2010 Best of the generate an estimated $38 million in sales for Capital Region Readers’ Poll the region stretching from Albany to Rome. “Best Museum” in Capital Region Living • See what makes the State Museum a standout by magazine’s* Best of the Capital Region 2010 visiting the galleries and browsing our website at www.nysm.nysed.gov. • “Best Museum” in Metroland’s Reader’s Picks 2010, “Best Museum (Cultural History)” More than 2,500 people follow the State Museum in Metroland’s Best Of (2010) on Facebook. Become a fan today to receive information about the latest exhibitions, • “Best Museum (Kids)” in Metroland’s programs, and discoveries. Best of the Capital Region 2009 “You can seriously spend hours there … and don’t forget to ride the carousel before you leave!” – A voter in the Times Union’s 2010 Best of the Capital Region Readers’ Poll VOL. 6 • NO. 1 contents SUMMER 2010 features The People of Colonial Albany Up in the Air: Aerobiological Live Online Discoveries at the New York 10 For more than a decade, the Colonial 13 State Museum Albany Social History Project has In the 1950s, State Botanist Dr. Eugene introduced the public to residents of C. Ogden led a statewide study of pollen early Albany through biographies and and spores. He later expanded on those historical documents posted on a studies, and what he discovered helped Above: Fifty years ago Dr. Eugene community history website. modernize the field of aerobiology. C. Ogden devised samplers to by Stefan Bielinski by Dr. Norton G. Miller study of the amount of pollen and spores released in the air. departments Director’s Note 2 Museum News 3 Discovery Now 6 New York’s Coyote—What Is It? Where Did It Come From? Museum research answers persistent questions about the state’s top predator. With a total of six volunteers, the osteology lab was a by Dr. Roland W. Kays busy place this summer. Hidden Treasures Above: This photograph, titled 9 Mountain Gorilla Northern Survey Company, is part On the Cover: Renowned painter Louis Agassiz Fuertes of the exhibition Not Just Another Mountain Gorilla captured the essence of a mountain gorilla Pretty Place: The Landscape of (Gorilla beringei beringei) and cast it in bronze. New York. The show opens September 3, in the West Gallery. Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874–1927) by Ronald J. Burch Cast bronze, 1923 Below: When comparing eastern 8 ¾ inches x 9 inches x 7 ¼ inches diameter and western coyotes, Museum NYSM H-1977.74.121 New York Stories 16 The Karner Blue Butterfly researchers collected and measured 196 skulls. Cover Inset: Now federally listed as an endangered The male Karner blue butterfly species, the striking Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), was first discovered in the United States from the State Museum’s by a State Museum entomologist. entomology collection, measures by Dr. Timothy L. McCabe approximately 1 inch in wing expanse. www.nysm.nysed.gov The Magazine of the New York State Museum director’s note Maria C. Sparks, Managing Editor Contributors Stefan Bielinski Ronald J. Burch ometimes it’s difficult not getting a “big head” about the Roland W. Kays Museum. The excellence embodied in our public spaces, Timothy L. McCabe Sresearch, stewardship, and programming is continuously Norton G. Miller recognized. A recent Capital Region survey ranked the Museum as the “Best Museum” and “Best Museum for Kids” in the Advisory Board area. The award cited the expansive galleries, breadth of exhibits, Clifford A. Siegfried the ever-popular carousel, and free admission as some of the John P. Hart reasons why the State Museum wins this category year after year. Mark Schaming These awards are just the most recent of many the Museum has Jeanine L. Grinage received (see the inside front cover of this issue). Robert A. Daniels Our recognition for excellence derives not only from the terrific exhibitions that we mount in our galleries but also from the overall visitor experience our staff delivers day after day, week after week. Editorial Board The graphic panels that announce our exhibitions, posters based Carrie Bernardi on our exhibits, and calendars celebrating our collections have won Cecile Kowalski national awards. Our magazine and our media relations office have Charles E. Orser Jr. Geoffrey N. Stein won awards for excellence. Year after year, our staff members are Chuck Ver Straeten singled out by their peers with awards that applaud their contributions and with competitive grants that support their important research. The New York State Museum is a treasure for all New Yorkers. Legacy is published quarterly by the We appreciate the support and recognition we receive from our New York State Museum, Cultural visitors and our peers, and we pledge to strive for excellence in Education Center, Albany, NY 12230. every aspect of our operations. We invite you to connect with the Members can receive the magazine Museum—visit our galleries, browse our website, and become a via e-mail. For information about fan on Facebook—and see why this is such an extraordinary place. membership, call 518-474-1354 or send an e-mail to: [email protected]. Dr. Clifford A. Siegfried Director, New York State Museum www.nysm.nysed.gov 2 n Legacy museum news Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New York Must-See Exhibitions Current Exhibitions: Focus on Nature XI Through October 31 Citizen Soldier: New York’s National Guard in the American Century Through March 2011 Not Just Another Pretty Place: The Landscape of New York Through March 2011 The Cut, Cecil Chichester (1891–1963). Oil on canvas, c. 1938. 24 ¼ inches x 30 ¼ inches. Sheraton side chair, attributed to Thomas NYSM 1997.11.1 Ash II. Painted and stenciled maple, c. 1820. NYSM H-1971.141.1 he new exhibition Not Just admiration, residents and visitors Great Depression. Not all the Another Pretty Place: The have been fascinated by the landscapes are actual locations Landscape of New York wide variety of vistas that New in the state; several landscapes T The exhibition Derby Doings: The explores the different ways York provides. are imaginative works that All-American Soap Box Derby, on artists, photographers, scientists, The exhibition discusses several reflect the artist’s impression view in the Main Lobby through and others have depicted our ways the landscape has been of New York State. August 18, provided a brief history state. It is the first exhibition of recorded, including documentation The exhibition opens of the All-American Soap Box Derby and the Capital District’s participa- landscape art entirely from the of the land, birds-eye views of September 3 in West Gallery. tion over the years. Albany’s first State Museum’s collections. communities, and photographs A companion exhibition, Wish competition dates to 1940 when Visitors will see more than 100 of the family home. It also You Were Here, featuring 15,000 people watched 100 boys landscape scenes in the form of explores how artists romanticized photographs of New York’s compete in the first races on paintings, photographs, prints, the landscape in their attempts varied landscapes, opens the Clermont Street. The exhibition featured a Soap Box Derby Car ceramics, furniture, engravings, to capture the natural beauty of same day. Members of the from 1949 (NYSM H-1995.71.1) and sketchbooks that span nearly the state in their paintings, pho- Exhibitions staff selected the and a contemporary Super Stock 200 years. The rich and varied tographs, and prints. In addition, photographs from hundreds model built in 2007. landscape of New York State the exhibition presents cityscapes of images submitted by people has been a subject of interest to that have inspired artists. Other throughout the state. When artists, photographers, historians, sections of the exhibition show viewed together, the photo- and scientists for hundreds of how New York’s landscapes have graphs confirm that New York’s years. Whether documenting the been used to encourage tourism, varied landscapes continue to landscape for political and scien- decorate home furnishings, and fascinate. Additional images can For more details on tific reasons or creating beautiful provide financial assistance to be viewed in an online exhibition exhibitions, go to www.nysm.nysed.gov/. paintings for contemplation and the arts community during the on the Museum’s website. n Summer 2010 n 3 museum news What’s New at www.nysm.nysed.gov lthough the earthquake tremors that shook New York state on June 23 might seem like a rare occurrence, earthquakes happen in New York with some regularity. A new website for the New AYork State Geological Survey provides details on popular geology topics such as earthquakes, rocks, minerals, and fossils as well as information on continuing research by Museum staff. It also offers teaching resources, links to geology publications published by the Museum, highlights of the geological collections— rocks and minerals, oil and gas, and paleontology, a guide to the rocks of the Empire State Plaza buildings, and more.