Tales of a Traveler: Creating Sunnyside

Transcription

An In-Classroom Curriculum
Portrait of Washington Irving (1783 - 1859).
John Wesley Jarvis, oil on wood panel, 1809.
Sunnyside / Historic Hudson Valley
Tarrytown, New York
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................1
Goals & Objectives .................................................................................. 2
About Washington Irving ................................................................... 3 - 4
Abbreviated Chronology ..........................................................................5
About Sunnyside ................................................................................ 6 - 7
Vocabulary Words .............................................................................. 8 - 9
Pre-Visit Activity I: Preparing for A Trip to Sunnyside ................... 10 - 11
Pre-Visit Activity II: Multifaceted Washington Irving.............................12
Post-Visit Activity I: Creating Special Places........................................... 13
Sunnyside as a Resource ......................................................................... 14
References ...................................................................................... 15 - 16
A publication of Historic Hudson Valley
Dina R. Friedman, Site Director, Sunnyside
Laura J. Dickstein, Writer & Arts Education Consultant
This material was supported inpart with funds from the New York State
Council on the Arts, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, the Hecksher Foundation for Children, and the Westchester Arts
Council.
INTRODUCTION
Dear Educator,
Thank you for participating in Historic Hudson Valley's "Tales of a Traveler: Creating Sunnyside" program at Sunnyside.
This in-classroom curriculum includes background information about
Washington Irving and Sunnyside, his home in Tarrytown, New York,
suggests activities and discussion topics, and provides a resource list. Please
incorporate into your classroom activities as many aspects of this curriculum as possible.
Please note the following important information:
1. Please have your students divided into groups of ten before you arrive at
Sunnyside. This is to allow for better viewing of artifacts and interaction
with museum interpreters.
2. Please ask your students to dress appropriately for the weather.
3. An educator will contact you one to two weeks prior to your class trip.
If you have any questions before your trip, please contact Sunnyside at
914-591-8763 ext. 21.
We look forward to seeing you and your students.
1
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
These goals and objectives are for both your class trip to Sunnyside and
the classroom activities suggested in this curriculum.
1. to explore Washington Irving's life as a 19th-century writer, diplomat,
traveler, amateur architect and landscape designer, lawyer, historian, family man, and employer
2. to understand the active role Washington Irving played in designing
Sunnyside
3. to examine Sunnyside as a home for family and a home and workplace
for servants
4. to introduce some basic components of Romantic architecture and
landscape design
5. to learn how artifacts, primary resources, and historic houses can be
used together to gain a fuller understanding of someone's life
6. to make interdisciplinary curriculum connections by studying history,
literature, and fine arts.
2
ABOUT WASHINGTON IRVING
W
ashington Irving was born in New York City (near present-day Wall
Street) at the end of the Revolutionary War on April 3, 1783. His
parents, Scottish-English immigrants, were great admirers of General George
Washington, and named their son after their hero.
Irving had many interests including writing, architecture and landscape
design, traveling, and diplomacy. He is best known, however, as the first
American to make a living solely from writing. Initially, he wrote under
pen names; one was “Diedrich Knickerbocker.” In 1809, using this pen
name, Irving wrote A History of New-York that describes and pokes fun at
the lives of the early Dutch settlers of Manhattan. Eventually, this pen
name came to mean a person from New York, and is where the basketball
team The New York Knickerbockers (Knicks) got its name.
Irving enjoyed visiting different places and a large part of his life was spent
in Europe, particularly England, France, Germany and Spain. He often
wrote about the places he visited. For example, Bracebridge Hall (1822) is a
view of life in England, and The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus
(1828), is about the Italian explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag.
However, in spite of his foreign travels, Irving's imagination frequently
drew upon his childhood memories of New York State. These memories
are reflected in letters that he wrote to family and friends from Europe, as
well as in the stories from his most famous work, The Sketch-Book. Published in 1819 under another pen name, “Geoffrey Crayon, Gent”, The
Sketch-Book includes the short stories The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip
Van Winkle. The literary Sleepy Hollow is actually the lower Hudson
Valley area near Tarrytown, NY, and Rip Van Winkle sleeps through the
entire Revolutionary War in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.
By the late 1820s, Irving had gained a reputation throughout Europe and
America as a great writer and thinker. Because of his popularity, Irving
received many important honors. The Spaniards were so pleased with
Irving's writing that in 1828, they elected him to the Real Academia de la
Historia or Royal Academy of History. In 1830, Irving received a gold
medal in history from the Royal Society of Literature in London, and also
received honorary degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and Harvard.
(continues on next page)
3
ABOUT WASHINGTON IRVING
Trained as a lawyer, Irving was active in the field of diplomacy. In 1842,
American President John Tyler (1841-1845) appointed him Minister to
Spain-a position we would now call ambassador. This meant he traveled
throughout Europe as a diplomatic representative of the United States.
Feeling that it was finally time to return to American and his family, in
1832 Irving returned from Europe to New York. In 1835, he established
his home Sunnyside in Tarrytown. Irving never married or had children.
Rather, for the next twenty-five years he shared Sunnyside with his brother
Ebenezer and Ebenezer's five daughters. During this period, when Irving
traveled or was sent on a diplomatic mission, he always had a home and
family to which to return.
Many artists, politicians, writers, and other influential people visited
Sunnyside. His home was publicized throughout the world in lithographs,
magazines, and tourists maps. Images of Sunnyside could even be found on
cigar boxes, sheet music, and ceramic pitchers.
On November 28, 1859, Washington Irving died at Sunnyside surrounded
by his family. On the eve of the Civil War, he was buried in the Sleepy
Hollow Cemetery at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
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ABBREVIATED CHRONOLOGY
1783
Born in New York City
1802 – 03
Travels up Hudson River to Canada
1804 – 06
Travels in Europe
1809
Diedrich Knickerbocker's A History of New-York published
Matilda Hoffman, Irving's “intended” dies
1815
Irving leaves for England and begins a 17-year period abroad
1819 – 20
The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent published
1822 – 32
Resides in Paris, Madrid, and Dresden
1835
Purchased Sunnyside
1842 – 1846
Minister to Spain
1855 – 1859
Published 5 volume biography The Life of George Washington
1859
Dies at Sunnyside
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ABOUT SUNNYSIDE
S
unnyside stands on the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New
York, and was purchased by Washington Irving in 1835 for $1,800.
The house was originally a two-room Dutch farmhouse, and its earlier
colonial history appealed to Irving. However, the farmhouse was too small
to accommodate his large extended family. Irving also wanted to create a
home that reflected his own ideas about beauty as influenced by the Romantic Movement. Over the next fifteen years, with the help of an artist
friend George Harvey, Irving redesigned and added to the original house.
The end result of their efforts is the Sunnyside that exists today which
includes many examples of Irving's interests and souvenirs from his travels.
Irving and Harvey designed Sunnyside in the Romantic style. This meant
that a variety of styles could be matched together as long as the final result
was beautiful. The landscape was also arranged in a particular way to give
the effect of a peaceful and natural-looking environment.
Irving was particularly interested in adding historical architectural elements such as a stepped-gable roof and weathervanes to the farmhouse
that he called “the cottage.” These were typical features of Dutch homes
that Irving saw while growing up in Manhattan. (During his childhood,
many Dutch structures still existed in New York City from the 1600s
when the Dutch established the area as New Amsterdam.) Throughout the
years he lived at Sunnyside, Irving added more rooms and other features.
Some of his ideas came from interesting buildings that he saw in Europe,
such as the world-famous Alhambra in Spain, the inspiration for the threestory tower of Sunnyside. Irving also outfitted his home with the most
advanced technology of the period, such as a refrigerator (ice box), a cast
iron stove, and indoor kitchen plumbing.
Irving paid special attention to the landscape that surrounded the cottage.
He wished to have it not only look beautiful, but also serve a practical
purpose. For example, Irving transformed a small pond into a larger body
of water that was pretty to look at and provided water to the animals on
the farm. A neighboring cistern provided water for the cottage. Irving
enjoyed spending time in the outdoors and he encouraged his family and
friends to join him on walks throughout his property.
(
6
ABOUT SUNNYSIDE
Sunnyside was always filled with guests and relatives who often would
gather in the parlor for lively discussions, dancing, tea, and music. Irving
enjoyed being host to many artists, politicians, writers, and other influential people. The people who shared his home on a permanent basis included Irving's brother and five nieces, as well as Irish servants who had
escaped the Potato Famine of the 1840s.
When Irving died in 1859, his brother and nieces inherited Sunnyside.
Other family members lived in the house until 1945 when it was purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. In 1947, Sunnyside was opened to the
public; it was named a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Rockefeller,
a supporter of historic preservation, viewed Sunnyside as a place where
the public could learn about Irving, historic architecture, as well as interior and landscape design.
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VOCABULARY
Please share the following vocabulary words with your students.
Antebellum period:
the period before the American Civil War between approximately 1820 to
1860
architect:
a person whose profession is designing houses, buildings, and bridges
contrast:
comparison of similar objects to set off their dissimilar qualities
diplomat:
a person who represents his/her country's government in a foreign country
and is responsible for developing relationships between the two countries
gentleman farmer:
someone who does not need to farm for a living but does it as a hobby
Hudson River:
315 mile river that flows from the Adirondacks in upstate New York to
Upper New York Bay (near New York City) which is part of the Atlantic
Ocean. The river is named after the early Dutch explorer Henry Hudson,
who in 1609 traveled up the river.
industrial revolution:
a period of time overlapping with the Romantic Movement marked by the
introduction of power-driven machinery such as textile mills, railroads, the
telegraph, and steamboat. These changes influenced operations of everyday
life. The first part lasted from approx. 1787-1859, Irving's lifetime.
interpret:
to explain the meaning of something (i.e. an object, person, event)
interpreter:
someone who guides you and helps you understand what you are seeing and
learning about.
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VOCABULARY
landscape designer:
a person whose profession is planning the arrangement of plants, trees,
bushes, gardens, etc.
legend:
a fictional story of a particular culture that has been handed down generation to generation, and usually that includes information about the past
19th century:
the period between 1800 to 1899
pen name:
a name used by an author rather than his/her true name
Romantic style:
a style in the art, architecture, music, landscape, and furniture design during
the 19th century that emphasized nature, emotion, mood, and irregular
shapes, sounds, and materials
stepped-gable roof:
a traditional Dutch roof that looks similar to steps and is part
of a sloping roof
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PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY I
Preparing for A Trip to Sunnyside
Objective: to introduce students to Sunnyside
1. Discussion: Read aloud the information on Sunnyside provided in this
curriculum. You might wish to connect this material to a topic that you are
currently studying in class. For instance, if you are studying technology,
compare the difference in technology at Sunnyside-a 19th-century home-to
that which might be found in today's homes. (See “Sunnyside As A Resource” on page 14 for other suggestions.)
2. Vocabulary Skill Builder: Share with your students the vocabulary list
provided in this curriculum. These words may be used on their field trip at
Sunnyside.
3. Learning-To-Look Skill Builder: While at Sunnyside, your students will
examine various reproduction artifacts and artworks and compare them to
the originals they have viewed. It would be helpful for your students to have
some prior experience interpreting this kind of material. On the following
page, you will find a copy of a painting of Sunnyside. Make copies for each
student and ask them to examine the work in detail. Or, divide your class
into smaller groups and use the enclosed postcards. Suggested questions:
What does this piece tell us about the location of Sunnyside? How was the
Hudson River used during the mid 1800s? Is it the same today? What forms
of technology were popular in the mid-1800s?
Read your students the following remark made by Washington Irving in a
letter to his brother Peter, dated October 8, 1835:
You have been told, no doubt, of a purchase I have made of ten
acres, lying at the foot of Oscar's farm, on the river bank. It is a
beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise.
Suggested questions: How does this quote relate to the painting? What does
it tell us about how Washington Irving viewed Sunnyside?
10
Sunnyside from the Hudson. Unknown artist. America, 1860 - 1880. Oil on Canvas.
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PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY II
Multifaceted Washington Irving
Objectives: • to introduce students to the many roles Washington Irving
assumed in his lifetime
• to help students consider themselves as multifaceted
individuals
1. Discussion: Though recognized and beloved as an author, Washington
Irving's studies and artistic pursuits were not limited to literature. During
your visit to Sunnyside, you and your students will learn about Irving as an
American author, as well as an amateur architect and landscape designer,
family man, traveler, lawyer, historian, employer and gentleman farmer. Read
aloud the information provided in this curriculum about Washington Irving.
Like Irving, your students are multifaceted. Ask your students to discuss the
different attributes that make up their unique identities.
2. Sharing Activity & Classroom Exhibition: Objects owned and collected
by an individual can tell us a lot about that person. For instance, if someone
collects dolls from around the world, we can assume that they might enjoy
traveling and learning about different cultures and styles. Ask students to
each bring to class a small object which they think represents something
about themselves. Have them discuss the significance of their object. You
might wish to create a classroom exhibition using the objects. Ask your
students to write labels describing what their objects represent. Place the
labels next to the individual objects. Invite other classes to visit your exhibition.
3. Reading Activity: To become familiar with Irving as an author and legend-maker, read one of his short stories such as Rip Van Winkle or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (see “References” on page 15 for suggested books). You
might ask your students to act out some of the plot. Ask your students to
describe what they think the characters and scenery looks like. Suggested
questions: How does the story make you feel? Scared? Angry? What aspects
of the story make you feel this way? What can you tell about the author
through his writing?
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POST-VISIT ACTIVITY
Creating Special Places
Objectives: • to follow-up on what the students learned about Sunnyside
and its different architectural elements
• to help students consider what objects illustrate experiences
that are important in their lives and shape who they are
1. Discussion: During your visit to Sunnyside, you and your students examined the various architectural and landscape design elements used by Irving.
Ask your students to discuss the different physical aspects of Sunnyside.
Perhaps you will focus on how Irving brought some of these elements with
him from his travels to Europe. You might also discuss how different cultures
design their homes, public buildings, and natural environment in different
ways (see “References” on page 15 for suggested books).
2. Writing Activity: Because of its famous owner and the care with which he
created Sunnyside, Irving and his home were widely visited. Pictures and
stories of Irving and his home were reproduced around the world. Ask your
students to pretend Sunnyside is for sale and the real estate agency wants
them to write a descriptive advertisement. Ask your students to create one
based on what they know about the entire property, including the home,
grounds, location, and the popularity of the owner.
3. Drawing Activity: Ask your students to complete drawings of their fantasy home and property. Similar to Irving's Sunnyside, your students' fantasy
home and property might include a house, outbuildings, gardens, lakes, and
paths. Before they begin drawing, your students should consider the following: What kinds of architectural elements will be included? How many
rooms will the house have? Will they have more than one house or building?
What kinds of things will happen on the property? Who will come to visit or
live there? Where will it be located (i.e. by a river, in a city)? What will
people see as they approach the house?
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SUNNYSIDE AS A RESOURCE
The following are some themes you might wish to discuss with your students prior to
or after your visit to Sunnyside.
Technology: Study the effects of technological advances on life in the home, the
beginnings of the industrial revolution, changes in the availability or scarcity of goods,
improvements in transportation, and the effect of lifestyles.
Lifestyle: Here you may want to emphasize the middle class. There are many elements
to this subject: how did people occupy themselves in work and play? What did people
have in the place of our stereo, television, and video games? What did people eat? How
did they dress?
Family: The concept of family today is very different than that of the 19th century.
How many households today include, as Irving's did, an older brother or two, several
nieces and assorted relatives who spend time in the evening together playing whist,
waltzing in the parlor, or just conversing?
Role of Women: What was the woman's position in the home? How did sex define
role in the 19th century or determine educational and career opportunities?
Role of Servants: Issues to consider are immigration, assimilation, discrimination,
work opportunities and domestic service. Since many of Sunnyside's servants were
Irish, this may be an opportunity for the study of one ethnic group and its adjustment
to American society.
Architecture and Landscape: What is Romantic about Sunnyside? The attention given
to porches and verandas, landscaped ponds and rural paths indicates something about
the changes made in American culture and society. What does the wide interest in
revival styles tell us about Romantic taste? What does Washington Irving's choice of
crow-stepped gables and Dutch weathercocks tell us about his interpretation of architectural style?
Interior Design and Decorative Arts: What values are expressed through the interplay
of style and function in home interiors? The floor plan frequently defines the intended
function and importance of rooms. What rooms were important to Washington
Irving? Do we value the same rooms or how have we redefined the important areas in
our life?
Literature: What touches of Washington Irving's personality, revealed in his writing,
also appear in Sunnyside? In what ways is the house a Romantic work?
Art: What are the similarities between the setting of Sunnyside and 19th-century
landscape paintings by the Hudson River School artists?
14
REFERENCES
Adult Books
Butler, Lynn Hyman. A Passage Through the Land of Sleepy Hollow. Secaucus,
NJ: Glover Press, 1998. (a retelling of Irving's story with photographs)
Chambers, S. Allen, Jr., Poppeliers, John C. & Schwart, Nancy B. What Style
Is It? A Guide to American Architecture. Washington, D.C.: The Preservation
Press, 1983.
Clark, Clifford E. The American Family Home, 1800 - 1960. Chapel Hill,
NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1986.
Dutton, Thomas A. (ed.). Voices in Architecture Education: Cultural Politics
and Pedagogy. New York: Bergin & Garvey, 1991.
Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle and Other Selected Stories. New York: Tor
Books, Inc., 1993.
Irving, Washington. The Sketch Book. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.c
Johnson, Kathleen Eagen. Washington Irving's Sunnyside. Tarrytown, NY:
Historic Hudson Valley, 1995.
Visions of Washington Irving: Selected Works from the Collections of Historic
Hudson Valley. Tarrytown, NY: Historic Hudson Valley, 1991.
Children's Books
Chorpenning, Charlotte B. Rip Van Winkle; A Play for Young People from the
Story by Washington Irving. Chicago, IL: Coach House Press, 1954.
Irving, Washington. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. New
York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. (in easy-to-read type)
Irving, Washington. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Nashville, TN: Ideals
Children's Books, 1991. (a storybook adaptation of the original story)
Isaacson, Phillip M. Round Buildings, Square Buildings & Buildings That
Wiggle Like A Fish. New York: Alfred Knopf Publishers, 1988.
15
REFERENCES
Macaulay, David. Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 1973.
Macaulay, David. Pyramid. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.
Macaulay, David. Great Moments in Architecture. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin, 1983.
Macaulay, David. The New Way Things Work. Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin, 1998.
Wilkinson, Philip. Buildings. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1995.
Pedagogy Book
Blatt, Gloria T. (Ed.). Once Upon A Folktale: Capturing the Folktale Process
with Children. New York: Teachers College Press, 1993.
Videos
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
1949 - Movies Unlimited.
1979 - Movies Unlimited. Narrated by Jeff Goldblum.
1988 - Columbia Tri-Starr Home Video. Narrated by Glenn Close.
1992 - Golden Book Video. Narrated by John Carradine.
1998 - Lyrick Studios. Starring Wishbone, a terrier.
Rip Van Winkle
1914 - Grapevine Video. A silent production.
1969 - Paragon Home Video. A Mr. Magoo cartoon.
1978 - Golden Book Video.
1982 - Planet Video, Inc.
1984 - Faerie Tale Theater. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
1992 - Movies Unlimited. Narrated by Anjelica Huston.
16

Tales of a Traveler: Creating Sunnyside

Transcription

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