Mercer County - Princeton - Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey [November 15, 2019–May 10, 2020]

Jersey Homesteads Mural, Ben Shahn (1898–1969), with Bernarda Bryson Shahn (1993–2004), 1936–7; located in the Roosevelt Public School. Photo by © RicardoBarros.com 2019

Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey

November 15, 2019–May 10, 2020
Opening Reception November 14 at 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

EXHIBIT SUPPORT PROVIDED BY:

Liza & Schuyler Morehouse
Lisa & Michael Ullmann
Rago Arts & Auction Center
Kalkin Family Foundation
This exhibition was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.

Morven Museum & Garden received a project grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
Morven Museum & Garden explores the history and culture of Dreaming of Utopia: Roosevelt, New Jersey, on view November 15, 2019 through May 10, 2020.
Jersey Homesteads rendering, c. 1936. Louis I. Kahn
(1901–1974).  Pastel and pencil on paper, mounted on board.
Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania
and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Roosevelt, NJ from an experimental immigrant community in the 1930’s to present-day artist colony.  More than 100 objects from 25 collections are shown together for the first time in
Working with the New Deal Resettlement Administration, Russian immigrant Benjamin Brown established the town, originally named Jersey Homesteads, in 1937. It was a community of Jewish garment workers who escaped city tenements to breath fresh air, farm the land, and operate a cooperatively-owned garment factory and shop.
Jersey Homesteads’ flat-roofed buildings, designed by architect Alfred Kastner with his assistant Louis Kahn, were built on half-acre lots that backed onto communal green spaces and woods. The emphasis on nature was inspired by the “Garden City” movement in which modern cities were designed around a central park. After the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, the town was renamed in his honor. 
After the communal collaborative farm and factory failed, Roosevelt attracted artists who addressed issues still very much relevant today: civil rights, economic equality, immigration, labor issues and fair pay, the right to free speech, peace and justice.
Included in this exhibition, guest co-curated by Ilene Dube, are works by legendary artists Ben and Bernarda Bryson Shahn, Jacob Landau, Gregorio Prestopino, Liz Dauber, Rex Goreleigh, Louise and Edwin Rosskam, Sol Libsohn, David Stone Martin and his son, Stefan Martin, Robert Mueller, as well as contemporary artists Jonathan Shahn, Ani Rosskam, Bill Leech and many others.

Morven Museum and Gardens Hours

Wednesday through Sunday - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: 55 Stockton St, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA

Popular posts from this blog

Monmouth County - Atlantic Highlands - Chris Brune: 1890s in Music, Story & Poetry

Image
Chris Brune: 1890s in Music, Story & Poetry Lecture: The 1890's in Music, Story, and Poetry Join us on Wednesday, November 14th as we continue celebrating the Strauss Mansion's 125th anniversary year. Storyteller and performer, Chris Brune shares stories, songs and information in the style popular in the 1890's. Brune will be playing music in various styles and instruments and giving recitations and readings of classic American literature. Admission is free to all. Refreshments served. Strauss Mansion Museum 27 Prospect Circle Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 07716 Email: ahhistoricalinfo@gmail.com Phone: 732 291 1861 
Read more

Mercer County - Lawrence Twp - “Rediscovering the New York University Papyrus Collection: Recent Preservation and Digitization Efforts”

Image
Thursday, February 27 – Mercer County              Princeton Preservation Group to Meet on February 27 about Papyrus     Ask anyone on the street in Princeton what the Princeton Preservation Group is and you are likely to get a raised eyebrow and a guess that they are people who want to preserve the town.  Actually, the Princeton Preservation Group (PPG) has been meeting several times per year since 1983 to hear lectures on a wide range of topics relating to the preservation of cultural artifacts, including books, manuscripts, artwork, furniture, photographs, tombstones, Lucy the Elephant, quilts, costumes, videotapes, and buildings, just to name a few.       The “Princeton” in PPG’s name derives from its founder, the late Susan Swartzburg, Preservation Librarian at Alexander Library at Rutgers. Swartzburg, a Princeton resident, taught a class in the Rutgers graduate librar...
Read more

Somerset County - Kingston - A visit with an 18th-Century Surgeon-Dentist

Image
Sunday, June 9 – Somerset County Save the Date for a visit with an  18th-Century Surgeon-Dentist      Let us be clear: George Washington did not have wooden teeth. However, he did have dental problems through most of his adult life, as did many 18th-century folk of both high and low social class. There were no regular visits to dentists, with tooth brushing and flossing in between at that time.  There weren't even dentists as we know them today. Dentistry was only just evolving as a separate profession through the eighteenth century. Barber-surgeons or surgeon-dentists provided many more services than our modern dentists. Toothbrushes were somewhat new, but rare for most people to use or even own. Germs were an unknown entity.      On Sunday, June 9 at Rockingham, Marjory Wienkop will be in residence in the Dutch barn with a display of colonial-era surgeon-dentist instruments, related objects and much information on the real story of who took...
Read more