Monday, June 10, 2013

Bellport: Summer, 1900

I was honored to be asked to guest curate the annual show at the Bellport-Brookhaven Historical Society,  Bellport: Summer, 1900. I've been time-traveling for the past few months, going through files of old photos, letters, newspaper articles and diaries from  Bellport 1895-1915 putting together an exhibition on the style of this period from sailing to suffrage, picket fences and porches, and work of the artists and writers.  I loved finding material on the suffrage movement and the leaders in Bellport and discovered an amazing woman photographer of this period named Frances H. Toms whose work is timeless. Reading about the first library, cultural events, and community issues from the last turn of the century bring us back to this period and the visual materials bring it to life. The exhibition will be on through the end of July, and we're thinking of a catalog/book as it is so rich in visual material and Long Island history.