Daily Admission: Diplomacy at Home

Descripción

This exhibition explores the private worlds of America’s founders through furniture, fine art, decorative,and personal objects from their homes—revealing how domestic spaces shaped political life and diplomacy. With special focus on New York figures such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton among others,Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Familiesalso foregrounds the essential roles of women including Martha Washington and Sarah Jay, who were instrumental to the development of the political and diplomatic culture of the newly formed United States.The exhibition highlights the value of material culture in defining the Founding Families’ central role as the architects who framed the foundation for our collective national history and explores the meaning of “home” across lives defined by public service.Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Familiesaligns with the John Jay Homestead’s 250th anniversary and will be a cornerstone of the events planned by the town of Bedford and Westchester County as part of the nation-wide celebration of the country’s semiquincentennial.Exhibition Sponsorship:Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families is made possible with generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Friends of John Jay Homestead through a programmatic gift from the Ford Foundation, the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation, the Wolfson Family Charitable Foundation, the Katherine C. and David E. Moore Exhibition Fund, Carla Shen, and The Director’s Circle of the Katonah Museum of Art: Paul Bird and Amy Parsons, Lisa Byala, Mike Davies, Isabelle Harnoncourt Feigen, Linda Nordberg, Yvonne S. Pollack, Rebecca Samberg, and Richard and Audrey Zinman. In kind support is provided by The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Katonah Museum of Art is proud to be a grantee of the Leir Foundation, the Fred and Donna Nives Foundation, the James Rosenquist Foundation, ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with support of County Executive Kenneth W. Jenkins and the Board of Legislators, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.Image Credits:Chair: Attributed to Thomas Burling (American, 1746-1831). Side Chair, 1790. Mahogany, oak, leather, and brass, 38 x 20 1/8 x 18 in. (96.5 x 51.1 x 45.7 cm). Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, Bequest of Ethel Patterson Randolph, 1958, 1958-16. Photo courtesy of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at MonticelloPainting: John Trumbull (American, 1756-1843), John Jay, 1794. Oil on canvas, unframed: 30 1/4 x 24 5/16 x 1 1/4 in. (76.8 x 61.8 x 3.2 cm). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, John Jay Homestead State Historic Site, Gift of Westchester County, New York, JJ.1958.306.a-.b. Clermont State Historic Site and John Jay Historic Site are two of 218 historic sites and parks administered and operated by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Kathy Hochul, Governor.Vase: Thomas Jefferson Vase (French) c. 1826-30. Porcelain, overglaze enamel, and gilt, 17 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 7 in. (44.5 x 24.1 x 17.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 47.19.2. Photo: Brooklyn Museum