Messenger-April-1020.. - Martha`s Vineyard Museum

MARTHA’S VINEYARD MUSEUM
MESSENGER
Spring
2010
Fall
2009
www.mvmuseum.org
www.vineyardmuseum.org
A Newsletter For Our Members And Friends
Stanley Murphy
Exhibition
Growing
Into Our
Name
For
Our Museum,
a
Paintings,
Drawings
Summer
of Successes
And Artifacts
Tell
Compelling Stories
The summer of 2009 saw the Martha’s Vineyard Museum present
some of its most ambitious programs ever, reaching out into the
community to present such events as a talk by Nobel Prize-winning
economist
M. Solow
andartist
a discussion
distinguished
henRobert
the family
of Island
Stanleyby
Murphy
donated
panelistsa on
the
100th
anniversary
of
the
NAACP.
60-year collection of his sketches and studies to the
Museum
expanded
its collaborative
work
Martha’s The
Vineyard
Museum
in early
2008, it didn’t
takewith
the other
important
Island
organizations,
celebrating
with
affordable
houscuratorial staff long to see the wonderful possibilities.
ing Now,
groupsvisitors
at the to
Bradley
Square project
in new
Oak
the Museum
can see ground-breaking
for themselves. The
Bluffs
after
preserving
important
artifacts
from
the
Island’s
first
multi-media exhibit in the Museum’s Northeast Gallery is more
African-American
church,
andwho’s
cooperating
withthe
thepre-eminent
Martha’s
than a celebration of
the artist
been called
Vineyard
Preservation
Trust
to
offer
a
combined
ticket
granting
portrait painter of his century and the successor to Thomas
Hart
admission
to
both
organizations’
historic
sites
in
Edgartown.
Benton. It’s a fascinating peek into the creative process.
And on their own campus, the Museum staff this summer
Assistant curator Anna Carringer remembers thinking, on
presented exhibits with a new level of polish and professionalism,
her first encounter with the Stanley Murphy collection, “This is a
engaging visitors with interactive media ranging from video procurator’s dream. Murphy was so meticulous, even with his smallest
grams to audio recordings.
sketches. I’d say 98 percent of all these pieces of paper are signed
Comments in the Museum’s guestbook confirm that visitors
and dated.
noticed, and very much appreciated, the new look. “Enjoyed the
“The sketches go back to his years in art school in the 1940s,
historic overview through photo albums, artifacts and art,” wrote
and they stretch until shortly before his death in 2003. When you
one visitor. “Fascinating and well done,” commented another.
pair them with the finished paintings, you can get a sense of the
Wrote a third, “The Museum’s collection gets more interesting
steps he took, and it puts these familiar works of art in a whole
every summer.”
new light.”
Perhaps the most prized affirmation came from the
At the time of the gift, Chris Morse, a member of the Museum
legendary collector and connoisseur Olga Hirshhorn, who made
board and the owner of the Granary Gallery in West Tisbury,
a trip to the Museum this summer just to see the special exhibit
praised the Murphy family for their foresight in keeping this
on the art and life of Stella Waitzkin. After touring the exhibit,
collection intact and placing it in the Museum’s care. “Taken as a
she declared simply, “You’re a museum now.”
whole,” he said, “this collection is really an amazing timeline of an
There’s a pattern here and a visible momentum, says
important artist’s life.”
David Nathans, the new executive director of the Martha’s
Now, in
the Museum
exhibit thatiswill
remain
on display
Vineyard
Museum.
The momentum
away
from the
institution’s
through
this
summer
season,
visitors
can
spend
a
few
former name — Martha’s Vineyard Historical Societyminutes
— which
with
Murphy’s
famous
1972
painting
of
Ozzie
Fischer
Keith
was dropped in 2006, and toward a fuller realization ofatwhat
it
Farm,
on
loan
from
the
Chilmark
Public
Library.
(“We
did
a swap
means to be a Museum. “Every day,” says Mr. Nathans, “we’re
with
them,”
“They have our oil painting of the
growing
intosays
ourCarringer.
new name.”
sidewheel steamer Monohansett hanging in the Library, with a
Presidential Visit
little label that says, ‘Where’s Ozzie?’ and suggesting that people
Sometimes, it’s almost possible to take for granted the
come see him here.”)
wealth and depth of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum collections.
While they’re admiring Murphy’s portrait of Ozzie Fischer
Sometimes it takes a visitor’s comment in the guestbook — “This is
at a stone wall, with the swales of Keith Farm behind him and
a historcal treasure!” to remind us what riches the Museum has in
the ocean beyond, they can listen to a recording of Fischer
its care. Sometimes it takes a visit from a Presidential family who,
collected by Linsey Lee of the Museum’s Oral History Center.
on a short Vineyard stay with few public outings,chose to make
And after hearing Fischer speak of his work at the farm he
one of those outings to the Gay Head Lighthouse.
W
Joan LeLacheur, who with her partner Richard Skidmore
is a keeper of the Gay Head Light, got the call from the Aquinnah
police on the night of August 26, asking if she could open the Light
From the new exhibit: This sketch of Ozzie Fischer, dated April 6,
early the next morning for a visit from the U.S. Secret Service.
1972, is a study for the oil portrait currently on loan to the Museum
She arrived
at theLibrary.
Lighthouse early that Thursday morning
from the Chilmark
Public
and swept out the floors. Two young Secret Service men soon arrived
managed for 35 years, visitors can move in closer to examine
and began exploring the property. “They looked in every case and
the paper sketches Murphy used to plan his approach to the
behind every object,” she recalls, “scanning the building for danger.”
portrait.Then they waited,
of Murphy’s
Ms. Many
LeLacheur
chatting sketches
with the
have grids
superimposed
Website Ahoy!
Secret
Service
men whileinthey
Museum Awards
pencil,
for
aid
in
transferring
his
explored and talked on their
Exhibit featuring
ideasphones.
from a “I
notepad
to the
scale
The First
cell
got to tell
them
a
of
a
larger
canvas.
It’s
a
technique
seagoing journals
little history of the Lighthouse,” she
Martha’s Vineyard
that
served
the
artist
well
in
says, “and that in our town, with
of Laura Jernegan is
completing
the biggest
Medals
only
300 people,
all of usand
butbest20
known
project
of
his
career,
the
set to open in June:
voted for Barack Obama, and that
see more inside
huge
murals
that
cover
the
walls
we could not think of who these
See Page 6
of the
Katharine
Cornell
20
people
were! I can
only Theatre
think
— to page 3
of 4 of them.” continued on page three
Catboat Vanity
Sails Into Summer
With New Engine
V
anity, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s catboat, will
spend a lot more time sailing this summer. This winter,
the historic 21-foot boat received a new 14-horsepower
diesel engine to replace an outboard motor. The extra power
will help the boat maneuver through the currents of the
photos by Mark Lovewell
harbor when winds are light.
Chris Murphy has a deep affection for the historic catboat.
For Chris Murphy, who has captained Vanity for the last
power needed when the wind lightened. But the currents grew
two years, the added power means more days to sail. “The boat
stronger in Edgartown Harbor after the Norton Point beach
originally had an engine,” he notes: “It was made to go scalloping
opened to the sea a couple of years ago. With stronger currents,
and do other things around the waterfront.”
even the outboard was not enough to help. The catboat’s abilities
Vanity was built 81 years ago, in what is now the Old Sculpin
were limited.
Gallery, by the “Old Sculpin” himself, Manuel Swartz Roberts.
The idea arose last year that she could be fitted with a safer inboard
Oscar Pease sailed her for most of his life. In the summer he
diesel engine. The Beagary Charitable Trust, in memory of John M.
would go fishing, take people out for sailing and fishing trips and
Morgan, and the Boatner Reily Family Fund contributed toward
picnics. In the fall he would take the mast off the boat and fit
repowering of Vanity and for her
her for bay scalloping in local
winter upkeep. The new twowaters. He’d have her hauled out
cylinder diesel was installed in the
during the dead of winter and
port-side fish well. The work was
relaunched each spring.
done by Bill Benn, a shipwright
In the days of working sail,
who has been with Gannon and
Vanity was one of a fleet of
Benjamin for four years and got his
catboats that numbered dozens
wooden boat restoration experience
in Edgartown and hundreds
working at The Chesapeake Bay
in Southeastern New England.
Maritime Museum.
Catboats were the sailing
“This boat is really the
workhorses of an earlier age.
museum’s finest ambassador,” says
Vanity stood out as one of the
Benjamin. Vanity will be used
originals throughout her career
to give Museum members and
on the Edgartown waterfront.
Shipwright Bill Benn installs the Vanity’s new diesel.
friends a sail back into the history
Captain Pease took care of her
of Edgartown, and for that matter the history of the region.
and often gave advice to other catboat owners.
Says Murphy: “To me she is a direct tie to the history of
Soon after Pease’s death in 1995, Vanity was donated to the
Martha’s Vineyard and fishing. I knew Oscar Pease. When I was a
Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Ten years ago she was restored at the
kid and started sailing, he was one of the gentler critics. Everyone
Gannon and Benjamin boatyard in Vineyard Haven, but without
has an opinion of what you are doing when you start sailing, but
her inboard gasoline engine.
he was gentler.”
Nat Benjamin of Gannon and Benjamin boatyard, who
Murphy, 63, was for years a commercial fisherman, working
headed up that first round of restoration work, says: “When we
out of Menemsha, so being able to sail Vanity is a way to draw
rebuilt this boat, we were told it would never have an engine. So
connections between his youth and his days of fishing. “It is a
there was no shaft log involved, which is unfortunate, because it
pleasure,” he says, “an honest to God pleasure to sail her. She is a
meant you can’t put the engine down the centerline.”
great sailboat, practically sails herself.”
An outboard motor was added to Vanity’s stern to give her
–2–
From the Director
Changes and
Continuities
A
s you look through this issue of the
Messenger, you will notice a few
things that have changed. We are 88 years
old and have changed our name a couple of
times, but one thing is not going to change:
our devotion to preserving and presenting
all things Martha’s Vineyard.
First, the Messenger is now in color.
Clearly, the work of Stan Murphy comes
alive when you have the chance to see the
range and subtleties of his palette. We hope
that the examples here excite you to come
to see our new exhibit, “From Concept to
Canvas.” Nearly 100 people attended the
opening on Feb. 6, and we expect it to be
a very popular attraction throughout the
summer. Two other shows open later this
spring and early summer.
Second, we have a larger and more
diverse calendar. This is evolutionary. For
the past few years the quality and quantity
of programming has been on the rise. It
is still rising, to meet the needs of a more
diverse and demanding membership and
visiting public. In addition to lectures, family
workshops and a variety of events, I ask you to
notice some events related to our World War
II show: a film series at the Katharine Cornell
Theater in Vineyard Haven and a vintage
plane day at Katama Airport.
Third, we will be publishing three
Messengers this year. We have more to say
about our collections and programming, and
frequent communication is a great way to do it.
Our members are fiercely loyal, and we boast
a museum membership retention rate that’s
far above average. We appreciate the support
and ask you to spread the word about the
great value of a Martha’s Vineyard Museum
membership. This Spring 2010 issue opens
a new member campaign through which we
hope to enlarge our enthusiastic group.
Thank you and visit us often.
David Nathans
Executive Director
Stanley Murphy Exhibit Uses Many Media to Shine Light on Creative Process
she says — “it isn’t about
in Vineyard Haven.
objects just sitting in a case.
One of the most
When you bring these pieces
delightful artifacts in this
together, they jump out at you
new show at the Museum
and tell a story.”
is a small cigar box which
Looking at these
Murphy used to create
juxtapositions of great works
a model of the Cornell
of art and the humble sketches
Theatre while planning
and studies that went into their
the mural project. This
making, it’s hard not to imagine
model is somehow playful
that Stanley Murphy kept
and serious at once — the
such careful notes in the hope
label under the lid still
that his sketches and paintings
touts the “Exceptional
might someday be reunited
Quality Very Mild
Stanley Murphy drew sketches of stone walls, of cows and geese, and several as they are here. Murphy
Corona Cigars.” But
was, after all, a great lover of
studies of Ozzie Fischer’s cap in his meticulous preparations for this iconic
portrait of the Chilmark farmer.
inside, the windows and
Vineyard history: He served
walls and stage of the
on the board of the Martha’s
theatre are precisely rendered, and between the windows are tiny
Vineyard Historical Society (now the Museum) from 1973 to 1982,
replicas of the mammoth paintings that almost every Vineyarder
including two terms as vice-president.
now knows so well.
Concludes Anna Carringer: “It’s such a perfect exhibit
One of the great joys of museum work, says curator Dana Street, for us, because here’s a person who served to make this
is the magic that happens when different pieces of the collection are
institution a better place, and now we’re showing his work
brought together in a thoughtful way. “A good museum isn’t static,”
and telling his story.”
— from page 1
–3–
Those Who Serve:
Museum Expands
Its Presentation of
Personal Stories
from World War II
A
young, trim, smartly uniformed Tom Hale leans from the
driver’s window of an American Field Service ambulance
in a small photograph, part of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum
exhibit, “Those Who Serve: Martha’s Vineyard and World War
II.” Hale is grinning and pointing at a hole just pierced in his
windshield by flying shrapnel.
Mounted above the snapshot is a souvenir — the now-rusted
shard of angry metal which, as it happened, only pierced Hale’s
sleeve. It is hard to imagine a better illustration for Winston
Churchill’s wry remark, “There is nothing so exhilarating as being
shot at without result.”
“Those Who Serve,” an ambitious exhibit which opened over
Thanksgiving 2009 in the Museum’s main gallery space, tells the
stories of Vineyarders who served both at home and abroad using
photographs, artifacts and their own words. The exhibit also
details how the Vineyard was changed by the war as it became a
bustling center of military activity.
Now this spring, in preparation for a new summer season,
the Museum is expanding this exhibit into the Gangway Gallery
space, adding multimedia displays for six more Vineyarders and
a video that tells personal stories of the German concentration
camps.
It’s an exhibit you can spend 15 minutes exploring, or three
hours. You can listen to, among others, Ted Morgan’s stories of
his adventures as a medic, and read about Betty Honey’s service
as a Tisbury air raid warden and member of the rationing board.
And when the exhibit expands this summer, you can hear Joe
Stiles recalling the racism that was endemic during his service at
the Vineyard’s Naval Air Station and Nelson Bryant’s account of
dropping into combat as a paratrooper on D-Day.
At the center of the main gallery is a display which
recalls the “Saving Private Ryan” story but in a brighter key.
It’s devoted to three Island brothers — Clifton, Elmer and
Leonard Athearn — who went to war and came home alive.
Clifton was a medic with the infantry unit that liberated the
concentration camp at Buchenwald. Elmer worked on the
Pacific Islands, building airfields with an engineer battalion
composed of 800 African-Americans and 23 whites. Leonard
served as an airplane mechanic in India, maintaining the
planes that flew “over the hump” carrying supplies to China.
Some of the artifacts — a grass hula skirt brought home by
–4–
Elmer — are almost humorous.
More touching are such small
treasures as the worn leather
wallet Elmer carried through his
war years, with its tiny snapshots
to remind him daily of the loved
ones he’d left at home.
The power of “Those Who
Serve” is all about the impact of
personal narrative, according to
Anna Carringer, assistant curator,
and Linsey Lee, curator of the
Museum’s Oral History Center,
who assembled this exhibit with
an eye for the compelling detail and
an ear for the memorable story.
“This exhibit doesn’t pretend
to tell a comprehensive story
of what happened in World
War II,” says Carringer. “It’s a
collection of personal stories,”
says Lee, adding: “You can come
into this gallery and find people
quietly reading the transcripts
of interviews, or wearing
headphones and listening to the
recordings, with tears streaming
down their faces.”
photos by Nis Kildegaard
War Mural Reappears
After Years in Storage
T
he showpiece of the Museum’s new
World War II exhibit, hands down,
has to be “The Battle of Britain,” a stunning
mural by Island artist Chandler Moore
(1927-1979) that covers one entire wall of
the main gallery. The inclusion of this work
in the show is a testimony to the persistence
of Linsey Lee, curator of the Museum’s
Oral History Center, and to the generosity
of Moore’s family, which underwrote the
painting’s restoration and has placed it on
loan for the duration of the exhibit.
This painting began as a piece of
performance art: Moore painted his mural
onto the plywood wall of a popular Oak
Bluffs drinking spot, the Lampost, in
1972. After the painting was taken down
in the late 1980s, Lee contacted the bar’s
owner, Peter Martell, every few years to
ask if he might be willing to donate it.
Early in the planning for the World War II
exhibit, Lee once again called Mr. Martell,
who said he had sold the Lampost and had
no idea of the mural’s whereabouts. “But
Peter gave me the name of one of the new
owners, Adam Cummings, who said it was
in storage and that they would be glad to
loan it to the Museum.’”
–5–
Lee connected the Lampost’s new
owners with Moore’s family, who purchased
it and paid for its restoration by Falmouth
conservator Ian Primrose. Now visitors to
the Museum can see a remarkable, fullyrestored work of Vineyard folk art that’s
been out of sight for nearly a generation.
The mural, which depicts brave British
merchant ships running a gauntlet of
submarines and German attack planes,
is at once vast and precise. “Everything is
correct to the last detail,” enthuses Lee.
“Look here — you can see the mustache
on the pilot of this plane.”
Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship
Richly Interactive Website
Prepares for Summer Launch
I
t’s only fitting that a project devoted
to the history of whaling should be a
leviathan in its own right.
A Martha’s Vineyard Museum project
that began with preliminary research in
2006 – and kicked into high gear with
a $208,550 grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities in 2008
– is nearing completion. “Laura Jernegan:
Girl on a Whaleship,” a rich and interactive
website created by the Museum’s education
director, Nancy Cole, and a team of
scholars and designers, is moving rapidly
toward its launch this June.
The website, at heart an educational
tool, is built around a treasure held at the
Museum: the diary of a child on a whaling
voyage around the globe. Laura Jernegan of
Edgartown set out on her travels in 1868
at the age of six aboard the bark Roman,
which was captained by her father, Jared
Jernegan.
The website presents two separate but
interwoven story lines – tracking the rise
and fall of whaling, a great American
industry, and chronicling the adventures of
young Laura Jernegan before, during, and
after her four-year voyage.
With most of the primary content
complete, the focus this spring has been
on what Cole calls “the interactives” – the
features that involve visitors to the site in
powerfully engaging ways.
Exploring Laura Jernegan’s journal,
readers will be able to zoom in on the
pages. They’ll be able to toggle between
the handwritten pages and a typed
transcription which is rich with hyperlinks.
They’ll be able to use a tool called Magic
Lens, a zoom function that provides
instant transcription of any handwritten
Nancy Cole at the computer where this four-year project is nearing completion.
phrase or paragraph. They can even hear
the journal read aloud, in recordings made
by young Molly Houghton and augmented
with sound effects by the Island’s own
sound engineer, Jack Mayhew.
Another feature will allow users of the
site to explore the insides of a whaling ship.
This part of the website is built around a view
of a whaleship, based on a historic image of
the Alice B. Knowles drawn in the late 1800s.
Site users will be able to explore a section
on whales that features the six species most
commonly hunted in the whaling era,
with questions and answers about each.
An interactive timeline traces the history
of the whaling industry. And a rich set of
map resources will allow users to compare
historic whaling routes with the ocean
and wind currents, and click on important
whaling ports to read more about them.
Meanwhile, a team of writers has been
–6–
Nis Kildegaard
working on a set of essays that fall under
the heading of “Dig Deeper” – essays
that allow users of the website to explore
specific areas that might interest them.
The essays are being vetted by a team
of five expert consultants, authors and
historians with special knowledge of their
fields. “They’ve been fabulous, clarifying
things and catching our errors,” Cole says.
This project has involved dozens of
people, includes hundreds of individual
web pages, and is illustrated with images
from such diverse sources as Duke
University, the National Archives, the
Smithsonian Institution, the Library of
Congress, the National Gallery of Art, the
New Bedford Whaling Museum, Mystic
Seaport and the Nantucket Historical
Association. Says Cole: “So many
institutions have been so generous with the
use of their images and artifacts.”
Museum Acquisitions:
One Painting, a Garden,
A Rug — and a String
Of Happy Coincidences
T
he call to the Museum came in February, just days
after the opening of its new exhibition of paintings
and sketches by Stanley Murphy. “We have a painting by a
Vineyard artist,” said the caller, “and we’d like to talk with
you about donating it to the Museum. Are you familiar, by
any chance, with an artist by the name of Stanley Murphy?”
The timing seemed almost too coincidental to be true.
But in fact, the donor, Helen Stern of Washington, D.C.,
was a former West Tisbury summer resident interested in
donating two works by Murphy: a pencil-on-paper portrait
of Mrs. Stern, and an oil-on-masonite painting of a West
Tisbury woman in her garden.
As it happened, Chris Murphy, a son of Stanley
Murphy, was visiting with curator Dana Street and
assistant curator Anna Carringer when news of the
offered gift came in. He knew right away the woman in
the painting had to be Mabel Johnson, whose garden was
famous in West Tisbury for half a century.
Mabel Johnson, a beloved figure in West Tisbury, was known
for many things: for the lush garden she tended outside her home
near the Garden Club on the Edgartown Road; for her stories
of the five and a half years she had spent as a young woman on
Nashawena Island; for her love of animals; her steadfast support
of the West Tisbury Congregational Church; and her fine
craftsmanship as a maker of braided wool rugs.
The Vineyard Gazette wrote of her work in 1962: “Mrs. Johnson
has acquired great skill over half a century of work. She has an
excellent eye for color, and her rugs have been in great demand.”
On the day the donations arrived, Stanley Murphy’s daughter,
Laura, and Prudy Whiting were visiting the Museum with a friend
to see the exhibit of Murphy’s work. They were invited to join in the
unwrapping, and when the painting of Mabel Johnson was revealed,
it brought a flood of memories.
Recalls Street: “Laura and Prudy told us how they used to spend
hours in Mabel’s garden. Mabel would reward them with fudge and a
dime for helping her weed the garden. Prudy sang us a little song she
remembered about gardening with Mabel.”
Laura Murphy also remembered that for many years a scrap
of paper had been tacked to a wall in her father’s art studio:
“Heaven,” it said, “is Mabel Johnson’s garden.”
Meanwhile, the stories of Mabel Johnson’s artistry as a rugmaker
were tickling something in the curator’s memory. She went digging in
the card catalogue, and soon closed the circle: in 2004, as a gift from
Lindesay Aquino, the Museum had indeed acquired a handsome
braided wool rug, measuring 51.5 by 32.5 inches in tones of gray,
green and blue. A tag sewn into the rug reads, “Hand Made by Mabel
Johnson, West Tisbury, Mass.”
“It was so great to have
these moments happening
when there were children of
Stan Murphy here to witness
them,” says Carringer. Now
she’s thinking of ways to
incorporate the new painting
and Mabel Johnson’s rug
into the exhibit which will
continue at the Museum all
this summer.
“We’ll have to be
creative with how we use the
space,” she says, “but this is
just too wonderful a story
not to share.”
–7–
MARTHA’S VINEYARD MUSEUM
MESSENGER
calendar
2010
Fall 2009
A Newsletter For Our Members And Friends
www.vineyardmuseum.org
Visit www.mvmuseum.org for details
or changes to our calendar.
Growing Into Our Name
Presidential Visit
April
For Our Museum, a
Summer of Successes
Saturday, April 17
LECTURE: Biodiversity of Island Life
Allen Keith and Stephen Spongberg
discuss their book, Island Life: A Catalog
of the Biodiversity On and Around
The
summer
of 2009
saw thethe
Martha’s
Vineyard Museum present
Martha’s
Vineyard,
covering
flora and
fauna
of
Martha’s
Vineyard.
Suitable
for
some of its most ambitious programs ever,allreaching out into the
ages and students
in particular
willasenjoy
community
to present
such events
a talk by Nobel Prize-winning
this exploration of the Island’s natural
economist Robert M. Solow and a discussion by distinguished
history.
panelists
on the Library,
100th anniversary
of the NAACP.
3 pm, Museum
Members $8/nonMuseum
expanded
itssigning
collaborative work with other
MembersThe
$12;
reception
and book
important
Island
organizations,
celebrating with affordable housfollow in the
Pease
House galleries.
May
Saturday, May 29
EXHIBIT OPENING: Those Who Serve
– Martha’s Vineyard and WWII, Part II
Sometimes, it’s almost possible to take for granted the
This second phase of the exhibit features
wealth and depth of the Martha’s
Vineyard
collections.
more stories
from Museum
Vineyarders
who served
Sometimes it takes a visitor’s
comment
the guestbook
— “This is
at home
and in
abroad;
also photographs
and personal
a historcal treasure!” to remind
us whatartifacts.
riches the Museum has in
3–5
pm,
Pease
House galleries;
reception
its care. Sometimes it takes a visit from a Presidential
family
who,
Members
free/non-Members
$7
on a short Vineyard stay with few public outings,chose to make
one of those outings to the Gay Head Lighthouse.
Saturday, May 29
COOKE HOUSE Galleries open today
for the season.
June
Thursday, June 3
LECTURE: The Portuguese in
American Whaling
ing groups at the Bradley Square project ground-breaking in Oak
Bluffs after preserving important artifacts from the Island’s first
Distinguished UC Berkeley professor, Don
African-American
Saturday, May 15church, and cooperating with the Martha’s
Warrin, discusses his new book, So Ends
LECTURE:
Hills, Hollows,
and
Vineyard
Preservation
Trust Bays
to offer
a combined ticket granting
This Day: The Portuguese in American
Bogs: A Geologist’s
View of Martha’s
Whaling, 1765–1927, the story of
admission
to both organizations’
historic sites inThe
Edgartown.
Museum is steward to three of the
whaling told from the point of view of the
VineyardAnd on their own campus, the MuseumVineyard’s
five lighthouses.
staff this summer
Portuguese Atlantic islanders.
Patrick Williams presents a history of geology
2010
Lighthouse
Hours:
presented exhibits with a new level of polish and professionalism,
5:30 pm, Museum Library
studies of Martha’s Vineyard extending from
engaging
visitors with interactive media rangingEdgartown
from video proJoan LeLacheur, who
with her
partner Richard$12
Skidmore
Members
$8/non-Members
the 1880s to modern day. He concludes with
May 28–June 11 and Sept. 8–Oct 11:
grams
to
audio
recordings.
is
a
keeper
of
the
Gay
Head
Light,
got
the
call
from
the
Aquinnah
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
a discussion of what global change means for
Open weekends, Memorial Day and Labor
police on the night of August 26, asking if she could open the Light
the Cape Comments
and Islands.in the Museum’s guestbook confirm that visitors
Day 11 am–6 pm
3 pm, Museum
Library
noticed,
and very
much appreciated, the new look.
“Enjoyed
the7: Open early
the11next
morning
forMonday,
a visit from
the7U.S. Secret Service.
June
June
12–Sept.
7 days
am–6
pm
Members
$8/non-Members
$12 albums, artifacts and art,” wrote
historic
overview
through photo
arrived at theFILM:
Lighthouse
early that
Thursday
morning
Fridays, July 16–August 13: OpenShe
evenings
The 49th
Parallel
(1941)
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
until 8pm
one
visitor. “Fascinating and well done,” commented
another.
Thisyoung
British
wartime
entreaty
for Empire
and swept out the floors. Two
Secret
Service
men soon
arrived
solidarity
was
directed
by
Michael
Powell.
Gayinteresting
Head
Wrote a third, “The Museum’s collection gets more
and began exploring the property. “They looked in every case and
Thursday,
May
27
Starring
Eric
Portman,
Lawrence
Olivier,
Sunset
hours:
Open
90
minutes
before
every summer.”
behind every object,” she recalls, “scanning the building for danger.”
Leslie Howard and Niall McGinnis. In
SPECIAL EVENT: Atria Wine Dinner
sunset
Perhaps the most prized affirmation came
fromuntil
the30 minutes after sunset,
Then they waited,
collaboration with the MV Film Society.
– Museum benefit
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, June
legendary collector and connoisseur Olga Hirshhorn, who made
Ms. LeLacheur chatting with
the Katharine Cornell Theater, Vineyard
8 pm,
Join friends of the Museum for an exquisite
19–Sept. 19
aculinary
trip toexperience
the Museum
this
summer
just
to
see
the
special
exhibit
Secret Service men whileHaven;
they Members
of the Museum
and/or
Museum
Awards
at one of Martha’s
East Chop
on
the art finest
and life
of Stella Chef
Waitzkin.
After touring
the
exhibit,
the
MV
Film
Society
$5/non-Members
$8
explored
and
talked
on
their
Vineyard’s
restaurants.
and owner,
Sunset hours: Open 90 minutes before
The
First
Christian
Thornton,
presents
four- now.”
she
declared
simply,
“You’rea special
a museum
cellafter
phones.
“I got to tell them a
sunset until 30 minutes
sunset,
course delight
witha wines
to complement.
Sundays says
only, June 19–Sept.
19 of the Lighthouse,” she
There’s
pattern
here and a visible momentum,
little history
Martha’s Vineyard
6 pm cocktails,
pmnew
dinner
David
Nathans, 7the
executive director of the Martha’s
says, “and that in our town, with
Atria – 137 Main St, Edgartown
Medals
Lighthouses:
Adults $5/children and
Vineyard Museum. The momentum is away fromAllthe
institution’s
only 300 people, all of us but 20
individuals $150 /couples $275
members free; picnickers welcome.
former name — Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society — which
voted for Barack Obama, and that
see more inside
Lighthouses are closed in inclement
was dropped in 2006, and toward a fuller realization
of
what
it
we
could
not
think
of
who
these
weather
means to be a Museum. “Every day,” says Mr. Nathans, “we’re
20 people were! I can only think
– 8 of
– 4 of them.” continued on page three
growing into our new name.”
Lighthouses
Saturday, June 12
LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE
In conjunction with the Martha’s Vineyard
Chamber of Commerce, the 3rd Annual
Martha’s Vineyard Lighthouse Challenge
is an opportunity to climb to the top of
the Edgartown, East Chop and Gay Head
Lighthouses between 10 am and 4 pm. Visit
the grounds of the West Chop Lighthouse
on the way. Start your tour at any of the
lighthouses. $15 single ticket/$25 family
includes all lighthouses and admission to
the Museum. Separate arrangements may
be made with The Trustees of Reservations
to visit the Cape Poge Lighthouse.
Monday, June 14
FILM: Saboteur (1942)
World War II
Film Series
Complementing the Museum exhibit,
Those Who Serve – Martha’s Vineyard
and World War II, this series of rarely-run
classics is presented in collaboration
with the MV Film Society. See individual
calendar listings for details.
Monday, June 7: The 49th Parallel
Monday, June 14: Saboteur
Monday, July 12: Since You Went Away
All dates 8 pm, Katharine Cornell Theater,
Vineyard Haven.
Members of the Museum and/or the MV
Film Society $5/non-Members $8
Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller starring Priscilla
Lane, Robert Cummings and Norman
Lloyd. Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane
(Cummings) is wrongly accused of starting
a fire at an airplane plant during World
War II, an act of fifth columnist sabotage
that killed his best friend. Kane becomes
a fugitive when he decides to run from the
authorities to find the real saboteur.
8 pm, Katharine Cornell Theater, Vineyard
Haven; Members of the Museum and/or
the MV Film Society $5/non-Members $8.
Friday, June 18
Summer Reception
Members and guests celebrate the
summer season with a cocktail reception
under the tent and the opening of Laura
Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship, an exhibit
that complements the launch of our NEHfunded website of the same name.
Other special exhibits:
From Concept to Canvas: Selected Works
of Stanley Murphy
Those Who Serve: Martha’s Vineyard and
World War II — Parts I and II
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
July
Thursday, July 1
ARchaeoloGY LECTURE SERIES
Whaling Disasters: Moby Dick, Gold
Rush, Confederates and Arctic Ice
James B. Richardson III, Curator Emeritus
of Anthropology, Carnegie Museum of
Natural History, and Professor Emeritus
of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh,
presents an archaeological view of whaling
disasters that includes: the origins of the
white whale story of Melville’s Moby-Dick;
the California gold rush; the Civil War and
Confederate raiders; the crushing of whale
ships by Arctic ice; and, the final deathknell of the industry through the discovery
of oil in Pennsylvania.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Wednesday, July 7
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
Thursday, June 17
LECTURE: Connecting with Fossils
“Fossil” Fred Hotchkiss, Director of the
Vineyard’s Marine and Paleobiological
Research Institute, talks us through an
assortment of fossils found in the area.
Students are encouraged to bring fossils
to show or inquire about.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Wednesday, June 30
Kids’ Workshop
Special Benefit
Events
Thursday, June 24
LECTURE: The Sinking of the Mertie
B. Crowley
Join our centennial observance of the
grounding of the schooner Mertie B.
Crowley with a talk and discussion hosted
by Vineyard Gazette reporter Mark Alan
Lovewell. On Jan. 23, 1910, the sixmasted schooner ran aground and was
destroyed off Wasque. All aboard were
rescued by a small fishing boat out of
Edgartown. Descendants of those who
risked their lives in the rescue share their
stories, memorabilia and fellowship.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
5:30—7:30 pm cocktails and hors
d’oeuvres on the lawn, free
–9–
Thursday, May 17
“Atria Wine Dinner” hosted by
Chef Christian Thornton at Atria in
Edgartown
Thursday, July 15
“Evening of Discovery” dinner and
auction overlooking the Edgartown
Harbor
Thursday, July 22
“Celebration of the Sea” stories,
songs and poetry by Mark Alan
Lovewell. In cooperation with the
M.V. Preservation Trust, at the
Whaling Church, Edgartown
Saturday, September 18
“You Can’t Spell ‘mARTha’s Vineyard’
without A-R-T” dinner
Saturday, December 4
“Appraisal Day” with experts from
Skinner Auctioneers and Appraisers
Thursday, July 8
LECTURE: Historic Preservation and
Historic Restoration: What’s the
Difference and Are They Compatible?
Thursday, July 29
ARCHAEOLOGY LECTURE SERIES
Rock Art in Europe & North Africa
With Patrick Ahearn, A.I.A. who specializes
in historically-motivated architecture and
restoration.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Writer, painter, archaeologist &
preservationist, Duncan Caldwell, talks
about the Upper Paleolithic cave art in
France and Spain and rock art in North
Africa.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Family Programs
August
Summer Kids’ Workshops
Wednesdays, June 30–August 18
Kids 5-12 enjoy arts and crafts and creative
exploration inspired by the Museum’s
exhibits and objects from the collection.
Wednesdays, 1st session 10 am–12 pm
and 2nd session 2 pm–4 pm, Members
$10/non-Members $15; check in at the
front desk in the Pease House galleries.
Please call to register; space is limited.
Monday, July 12
FILM: Since You Went Away (1944)
David O. Selznick’s first production since
1940s Rebecca, this set-piece is a
rewarding paean to the World War II home
front. Starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer
Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Wooley,
Hattie McDaniel and Joseph Cotton.
8 pm, Katharine Cornell Theater, Vineyard
Haven; Members of the Museum and/or
the MV Film Society $5/non-Members $8
Wednesday, July 14
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
Thursday, July 15
SPECIAL EVENT
Evening of Discovery
The thirteenth annual dinner and auction
set under the white tent on a glorious bluff
overlooking Edgartown Harbor. Silent and
live auctions cap a delightful midsummer
evening in support of our Museum.
6 pm cocktails, 7 pm dinner, 8 pm auction
with Karen Keane of Skinner, Inc., Tower
Hill, The Vose Family Trust Property,
Edgartown; individuals $175/couples $350
Saturday, July 17
SPECIAL EVENT
Katama Airport — WWII Airplanes
Wednesday, August 4
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
In conjunction with the Museum’s Those
Who Serve exhibit, meet enthusiast pilots
from off-Island as they bring their vintage
World War II airplanes to Edgartown. Enjoy a
beautiful summer afternoon, perhaps even
stop for lunch at The Right Fork. Scheduled
to arrive at the Katama Airfield are three
trainer and transport planes: an AT-6 from
Hanscom Field, a C-45 from Plymouth and a
Model 75 Stearman from Nantucket.
12 noon–3 pm, Katama Airport,
Mattakeesett Way, Edgartown. Free to all.
Wednesday, July 21
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
Thursday, July 22
RECEPTION and CONCERT
Celebration of the Sea
A program of stories, sea songs and poetry
given by Mark Alan Lovewell, this annual
fundraiser benefits the Museum and
MV Preservation Trust. Exhibitors at the
reception include nonprofit organizations
committed to preserving the Vineyard’s
maritime heritage through science,
education and environmental awareness.
5:30 pm reception at the Edgartown
Whaling Church followed by 7 pm concert.
Admission $15/children and seniors $10
Wednesday, July 28
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
– 10 –
Thursday, August 5
LECTURE: Stan Murphy Artist Panel
In connection with the Museum’s ongoing
exhibit, From Concept to Canvas: Selected
Works of Stanley Murphy, Island artists
come together to discuss the life, work
and influence of the painter.
5:30 pm. Members $8/non-Members $12;
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Wednesday, August 11
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
Thursday, August 12
ARchaeoloGY LECTURE SERIES
Visiting Wampum
Dr. Jim Bradley, archaeologist and author of
Before Albany: An Archaeology of NativeDutch Relations in the Capital Region 16001664, talks about the monetary system
of Native Americans. What is wampum?
Where did it come from? The answers are
more complicated and interesting than most
people realize. This presentation explores
these questions as well as the many roles
that these small shell beads played in the
lives of Native peoples and Europeans
during the 17th century.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Wednesday, August 18
Kids’ Workshop
10 am–noon and 2–4 pm
See Family Programs sidebar for details.
Saturday, August 28
ARCHAEOLOGY LECTURE SERIES
Archaeology Identification Day
Join distinguished experts Jill Bouck,
Dick Burt, Duncan Caldwell, Bill Moody
and Jim Richardson to learn more about
your archaeological treasures from New
England and around the world. Bring your
finds and our panel of archaeologists will
reveal their hidden secrets.
9 am–noon, Museum Library
Members free/non-Members $7
September
Saturday, September 11
Ceremony of Remembrance
A dedication ceremony for family and
friends of children memorialized through
the placement of engraved cobblestones
in the base of the lighthouse.
1 pm, Edgartown Lighthouse Children’s
Memorial, free (rain date: Sept. 18)
Thursday, September 16
ARchaeoloGY LECTURE SERIES
Robots and Ancient Shipwrecks in
the Mediterranean Sea
Ancient shipwrecks littering the bottom of
the Mediterranean Sea are direct evidence
of trade and communication between the
earliest civilizations. Dr. Brendan Foley of
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
shows us how scientists are deploying
advanced submarine robots and sensors
in collaboration with regional partners in
Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, and Algeria.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
These programs and exhibits would not be
possible without the financial support of
individual donors, corporate sponsorships
and grants. Consider making a gift to the
Martha’s Vineyard Museum today to help
ensure that our exhibits and programs
continue.
Saturday, September 18
SPECIAL EVENT: You Can’t Spell
‘mARTha’s Vineyard’ without A-R-T
Join Island artists for a lively and
progressive dinner.
6 pm cocktails, 7 pm dinner; $250 per
person; limited seating
Thursday, September 23
ARchaeoloGY LECTURE SERIES
L’Anse aux Meadows, Leif Eriksson’s
Home in Vinland
Dr. Birgitta Linderoth Wallace, archaeologist
emeritus of Parks, Canada, provides a
distinguished archaeologist’s interpretation
of the Vinland Sagas, asserting that the
archaeological, literary and sociological
evidence overcomes long-held doubts that
L’Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, was the
home of Leif Eriksson during his 11th-Century
exploration of the western territories.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
Reception follows in Pease House galleries
Saturday, September 25
EXHIBIT OPENING: Your Town, Our
Island
The Island’s six towns represent distinct
and varied geographies, histories and
communities. More than simply a location,
each town instills a sense of belonging
and pride in its residents. Through objects,
photographs and oral histories, visitors
can learn more about the unique story of
the towns and how those stories relate to
the greater Island story.
3–5 pm, Pease House galleries; reception.
Members free/non-Members $7
– 11 –
October
Thursday, October 26
ARchaeoloGY LECTURE SERIES
Basque Whalers on the Labrador Coast
Dr. Jim Tuck, Professor emeritus from
Memorial University of Newfoundland and
author, speaks about the Basques who
voyaged to Red Bay and other Labrador
ports during the 16th century and their
long heritage of whaling.
5:30 pm, Museum Library
Members $8/non-Members $12
reception follows in Pease House galleries
November
Friday, November 26
(Thanksgiving weekend)
EXHIBIT OPENING: When This You
See, Remember Me: Samplers from
the Museum Collection
Throughout history, the creation of samplers
signified a rite of passage for young girls.
The sampler was a way to show off skill,
record important family information and
convey morality through a verse or two.
Showcasing the Museum’s collections,
visitors will get the chance to learn about the
girls behind the needlework.
3–5 pm, Pease House galleries; reception.
Members free/non-Members $6
December
Saturday, December 4
SPECIAL EVENT: Appraisal Day
Experts from Skinner Auctioneers and
Appraisers evaluate your prized objects
in this popular event. Items may be
consigned for sale by Skinner with a
portion of the proceeds to benefit the
Martha’s Vineyard Museum.
9 am–3 pm, Museum Library; appraisal of
one item $15, three for $40. Reservations
can be made beginning Nov. 13.
This calendar is subject to changes and
additions; please consult our website,
www.mvmuseum.org or call us at
508-627-4441 for up-to-the-minute
information.
Museum News
Briefs
Amy Houghton, our director of development, will be
leaving us as she charts new waters with the Vineyard Nursing
Association. There she will take on the role of director of
development and communications.
Amy has been with the Museum for five years, and her
humor, dedication, sharp mind and ability to chat up anybody
from politicians to visitors from Peoria — and always find some
common connection — will be deeply missed. She says: “This
has been a wonderful place to work and I couldn’t have asked for
better colleagues.”
We expect to have an interim development director in place by
April 1, so call our main number and extension 121 for help.
Post Office Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum is pleased to introduce Jane
Ford, our administrative coordinator. Jane’s is the first voice you
hear when you call and often the first face you meet when you
come into the Museum. Jane comes from Dearborn, Mich., and
has lived on the Island since July 2007. Among other tasks, she is
working with our volunteers to ensure that each and every one has
a fulfilling experience of volunteering here at the Museum.
Jane joined the Museum staff in October 2009. She lives in
Edgartown with her fiancé, Doug Dexter, and their yellow lab
puppy, Olive.
Martha’s Vineyard Museum
Arrivals & Departures
Transitions
Dana Costanza Street will be stepping down as curator and
into the position of part-time librarian for the Museum. Citing
the need for a full-time curator, she says: “It has been an honor to
hold this position, but the Museum’s collections need a full-time
caretaker and spokesperson and as a new mother I am unable to
give them the attention they deserve.”
We look forward to having her expertise in the library, where
she will be able to work with researchers, students and staff.
The Messenger is published
three times a year by the
Martha’s Vineyard Museum
for its membership.
Editorial board:
Walter Bunge, Charlotte Hall,
Nis Kildegaard, Mark Lovewell,
Donald Shanor, Susan Wilson
Accomplishments
In December 2009, education director Nancy Cole reached a
personal goal, receiving her Masters in Information and Library
Sciences. To accomplish this, Nancy commuted to the University
of Rhode Island for three years. “The way that people access
information is changing dramatically,” she says. “I learned so much
that is useful here at the Museum — even if the job I have isn’t as a
librarian, what I learned is applicable to what I do here.”
In March, Susan Wilson, the editor of The Dukes County
Intelligencer and the Museum’s Development & Publications
Coordinator, had her sixth novel, One Good Dog, released by St.
Martin’s Press.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum
is funded in part by the
Massachusetts Cultural Council,
a state agency,
and by members like you.