2008 Calendar of Events

Thomas Hope: Regency Designer
Thursday, July 24, 2008, 6:00
This exhibit offers us the unusual opportunity to see the  works of Thomas Hope (1769–1831), a perhaps neglected figure in the history of British design. In addition to being a designer, Hope was patron and collector and helped define the Regency style that remains influential today. About 140 items have been loaned to the exhibit, including sculpture, furniture, silver, and other objects seldom seen together. Rebecca Allan will be our guide to the exhibit, which was organized by the Bard Graduate Center and comes to New York from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Our tour will be followed by a reception. Meet at the Bard Graduate Center, 18 West 86th Street. Please make your reservation by July 17.

Architecture through the Trades: Building Drayton Hall, Kenmore, and Other
Houses of the 18th Century
Thursday, September 25, 2008, 6:00
In recent years historic preservationists have done extensive research on the materials and techniques used to build the classical houses of the eighteenth century. Prominent among them in this country is Matthew Webster, director of preservation at Drayton Hall, in Charleston, South Carolina. A specialist in architectural archaeology, Matthew Webster has also worked on such projects as 1770s Kenmore, 1720s Ferry Farm, and 1740s Accokeek. He has used modern methods of material analysis as a means of replicating early methods of construction. His lecture will be centered around his researches at Drayton Hall as well as at Kenmore, Menokin, and Falmouth. The lecture will be at the Collectors Club, 22 East 35th Street, New York City, and will be followed by a reception. Please make your reservation by September 18.

Early Architecture of Newport Monday, September 29 — Wednesday, October 1, 2008      The American Friends of the Georgian Group is delighted to join with the Georgian Group to offer this tour of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century architecture of Rhode Island. The tour will provide a rare opportunity to enjoy privileged access to extraordinary buildings of real distinction and historical interest, many of which are privately owned and not open to the public.      Nowadays thought of as the playground of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century plutocrats, tiny Newport was one of the most significant cities in American history. Newport was an early haven of religious freedom, a prosperous trading port, and even a base for pirates; today there are more than three hundred restored eighteenth-century buildings from that golden age—more than in any other part of the country.      AFGG members will join the Georgian Group in Providence for lunch on Monday, followed by  a walking tour that will include the John Brown House (1788), the Nightingale-Brown House (1792), the First Baptist Church in America, and Brown University. We will arrive in Newport in time for dinner. On Tuesday we will visit Hunter House; the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, oldest circulating library in America; and Cozzens House, built in 1750 and now the home of AFGG member Mary Riggs, who has invited us for a champagne reception. On Wednesday our focus will be on early houses of worship: Touro Synagogue, the Baptist Meeting House, the Quaker Meeting House, Trinity Church, and Colony House, where the French troops under Rochambeau attended Catholic mass. Rochambeau’s headquarters, Vernon House, is still in private hands and its owner has invited us to tea.      We will enjoy meals at private clubs such as the Hope Club in Providence and the New York Yacht Club, home of the America’s Cup races for fifty years. Lunch on Tuesday will be at a colonial revival mansion built by Ogden Codman and dinner on Wednesday will be at the White Horse Tavern (1652), the oldest in America. The American Friends will stay at the luxurious Viking Hotel in Newport, which is registered with the Historic Hotels of America.      The Georgian Group members will begin their tour in Boston on September 27 and will stay in Newport Thursday and Friday to visit the famous “cottages” and other of Newport’s many non-Georgian-era but nonetheless special architectural treasures. Their visit will conclude with a gala dinner at Marble House on Friday evening before they depart from Boston on Saturday. Arrangements have been made to accommodate members of the AFGG who wish to join the Georgian Group tour at either or both ends. SPACE IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THIS WONDERFUL TRIP. IF YOU WISH TO JOIN US, PLEASE CALL 212/991-9191 OR E-MAIL US AT office@americangeorgians.org

Historic Preservation in New York State
Thursday, October 2, 2008, 6:00
New York State Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation, Winthrop Aldrich, has graciously agreed to speak to us about the astonishingly rich and diverse architectural heritage of New York State and the programs designed to preserve it. Winthrop Aldrich was active in establishing the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District and has been a passionate student of the Hudson River area, where he has lived all his life. He has worked devotedly to preserve the land and historic architecture of the region and of New York. His talk will focus on the upstate area; however, he will discuss preservation programs in New York City as well. The lecture and reception will be at the Harvard Cub, 35 West 44th Street, New York City. Please make your reservation by September 25.

Mantles and Chimneypieces
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 6:00
Chesney’s, specialists in reproduction and antique chimneypieces, began in London in 1984, when Paul Chesney found an old discarded fireplace in a Dumpster. His company now produces six thousand marble and stone mantles a year. The newest design is called the Fitzroy, an authentic reproduction of the chimneypiece designed by Robert Adam in the 1790s for the principal drawing room at 6 Fitzroy Square, now the headquarters of the Georgian Group in London. Alistair McCowan, of Chesney’s USA, will be our host during our visit to Chesney’s New York showroom. A reception will follow our tour. Meet at Chesney’s, 979 Third Avenue, #244, New York City. Please make your reservation by October 9

George IV
Thursday, October 23, 2008, 6:00
George IV (1762–1830) was made regent in 1811 owing to his father’ insanity. Extravagant and dissolute, he was unpopular with his subjects. Nevertheless, the cultural flowering that was fostered during the reign of George III was maintained while he was on the throne. Our lecturer, Giles Waterfield, is an independent curator and writer who is director of Royal Collection Studies and an associate lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. He served as joint curator of the exhibitions Art Treasures of England at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1998, the Art of the Country House at the Tate Gallery in 2000, and Below Stairs, in London and Edinburg, in 2003–2004. The lecture and reception will be at the Collectors Club, 22 East 35th Street, New York City. Please make your reservation by October 16.

Lost Mansions of Mayfair
Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 6:00
The historic Mayfair district of London is notable for its elegant squares, broad Georgian thoroughfares, and beautiful parks. Although Grosvenor, Hanover, and Berkeley squares survive, many architectural gems in the neighborhood have been lost. Mayfair was known for its inhabitants’ taste in distinctive architectural expression. Oliver Bradbury has done extensive research on this famous but sometimes overlooked area of London and his work is presented in his new book, The Lost Mansions of Mayfair, published this June. Oliver Bradbury is Assistant Architectural Advisor to the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust and the author of an earlier book, Cheltenham’s Lost Heritage, as well as numerous articles on historic architecture. Copies of his book will be available for purchase. The lecture will be at the Union Club, 101 East 69th Street, New York City, and will be followed by a reception. Please make your reservation by November 11.

Celebrate Palladio’s 501st Birthday! The American Friends of the Georgian Group Tour of the Veneto April 21–28, 2009 Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio designed some of the most beautiful palaces and villas ever to employ the classical style. His work was admired by Inigo Jones and later British architects who were inspired by his treatise, The Four Books of Architecture. The style of the Georgian era owes much to Palladio and it is appropriate that the American Friends of the Georgian Group visit the Veneto region to celebrate his 501st birthday. Our tour will include examples of Palladio’s finest work: the Villa Rotonda, the Palazzo Chiericati, the Teatro Olimpico, Villa Saraceno, and many others. We will enjoy private visits and refreshment in several places, as well as the services of knowledgeable guides throughout our visit.  Accommodations will be at the eighteenth-century Villa Michelangelo in the Berici hills near Vicenza. We plan a seven-night stay, from April 21 to April 28. MARK YOUR CALENDARS RIGHT AWAY!