EXHIBIT & LECTURE-The Zaddock Pratt Museum is pleased to present the first exhibition of our 2024 season. Whose Folk? features work by contemporary artist Cal Siegel in conversation with a curated selection of objects from the museum’s collection. Siegel’s sculptures and photographs – various ceramic and wooden forms, vessels, and wall hangings all refer back to historical architecture and objects with equal parts reverence, humor, and criticality. When displayed alongside historic artifacts from the Pratt homestead, visitors are asked to consider how the past informs the present.
This exhibition is the first curatorial project by Tony Bluestone, a newly appointed member of the museum board. He is interested in how civic life is shaped by history and how cultural institutions deepen community engagement.
The exhibition runs from May 25th through July 31st with an opening reception on Saturday, May 25th from 1-3 pm.
EXHIBIT-June 22-July 28. “Paint the Town,” Prattsville’s second annual contemporary art event featuring “Views of Prattsville” painted, drawn or photographed by local and regional artists. See Prattsville through the eyes of an artist.
LECTURE-June 22- The Mountaintop Merwins’ famous literary connection by local author, journalist, and newspaper reporter Jesse “James” Angelino. Merwin is a name that many folks across the river in Kinderhook and up on the mountain in Jewett and Prattsville, NY know quite well. But did you know that it was a Merwin who inspired Washington Irving’s iconic character, Ichabod Crane, of “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” fame? Enjoy this talk by literary explorer and discovered Jesse “James” Angelino as he takes you on his journey to uncover the Greene County “mountaintop” roots of one of the most famous fictional characters of the 19th century.
Jesse “James” Angelino is a local author, journalist, and newspaper reporter. He has been studying the history of New York City, Albany, and the Catskills for most of his life. He grew up in Palenville, NY and currently lives in Cairo writing for the local newspaper, “Porcupine Soup”. He also has a book published that is available wherever books are sold titled “It Once Was”. A comedy about growing up in upstate NY.
LECTURE-July 13th, 1-3 pm– Zadock Pratt, Ralph Ingersoll & The Ghost Troops of WWII by former Pratt Museum Curator Suzanne Walsh.
Come listen to the recently declassified story about how Zadock Pratt’s great grandson, Ralph Ingersoll was front and center in the smoke and mirrors escapades that saved the lives of thousands of US troops and helped win the war in the operation of the “Ghost Army of World War II”.
“Every army practices deception. If they don’t, they can’t win…” (RTD. USA Gen. Wesley Clark). The “Ghost Army of World War II” tells an almost unbelievable story of not just any kind of historical military deception, but one that was audaciously out-of-the-box, due to a big helping of Ralph Ingersoll, himself.
Because of the declassification, we now know in June 1944 the United States Army created a new one-of-a-kind secret unit called the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a regiment formed to deceive and confuse German troops in Europe during World War II into not only believing the US military had far more forces in Europe than it actually had, but also into believing a decoy army was the real one while the real units critically operated on the front lines elsewhere.
Come, learn more about this incredible saga of W.W. II history and the history of the Zadock Pratt family in America.
LECTURE-July 21st, 1-3 PM–Second Annual Zadock Pratt Lecture: Lafayette’s Visit to Greene County, NY by Greene County Historian Jonathan Palmer. In 1825, General George Lafayette was welcomed in Catskill, NY with a festive paraded led by On July 12, 1822, he became a Colonel for New York’s 116th Infantry. In 1825, he commanded the escort of Lafayette into Catskill on his beloved horse, Prince.
EXHIBIT-August 10-October 27. “The History of Prattsville in 25 Objects,” co-curated by Carolyn Bennett, Frank Marquit, and Ruth Pelkey. Even those familiar with the Pratt Museum are often unaware of its large collection of documents, photographs and artifacts connected with the life of Town Founder Zadock Pratt and the Town of Prattsville (1833-present). This exhibit brings together 25 objects from the Museum’s collections to tell the “story” of Prattsville.
LECTURE-August 17st. 1-3 pm – “Zadock Pratt as Art Patron”. An illustrated talk about a little-know facet of Zadock Pratt’s personality by one of the Pratt Museum’s favorite former curator Suzanne Walsh. In this lifetime, Pratt commissioned works by John Vanderlyn, Frederick Spenser, Amos Hamlin, Currier & Ives, and others.
ART AUCTION FUNDRAISER-August 24th. Prattsville’s Second Annual “Paint the Town” art auction & fundraiser featuring paintings, drawings and photographs by local and regional contemporary artists.
LECTURE-September 21. Looking for Railroad Jack: A Historian’s Search for a Long-Lost Canine Celebrity by historian Kelli Huggins.
In the 1880s and 1890s, there were few dogs as famous as Albany, NY’s Railroad Jack. Along with his contemporary, the Postal Service’s Owney, Jack captivated the public with his train-riding antics. When he died in 1893, his body was taxidermied and, subsequently, lost from the historical record. This talk will explain what Jack and fellow animal celebrities tell us about the history of the Gilded Age and will explore attempts to figure out what happened to him.
Kelli Huggins is a historian, museum professional, and artist with a penchant for the bizarre and forgotten. Her current book project is about canine celebrity in the 1800s, focusing on Railroad Jack and Owney, two real-life, famous train-riding dogs. She has a Master’s in History from the University of Delaware.
FUNDRAISER-September TBA. Second Annual Victorian Tea. Delicious savories. Aromatic Teas. Make your reservations now. 201-388-5103.
HARVEST FUNDRAISER-October TBA. Psychic readings,
HARVEST LECTURE-Sunday, October 27th,, 1-3 pm–Greene County Historian Jonathan Palmer will thrill and chill his audience with the second in the Pratt Museum’s Greene Ghosts Series, “The Murder of Sally Hamilton”. Yes, there’s a ghost in the story.