Over the past few years the museum board and staff have made a commitment to expanded programming that weaves the resources of our architectural landmark with a meaningful examination of artistic movements and social history. During 1999 we have been an active participant in Project Millennium, collaborating with several other cultural institutions on exciting projects that have approached our interpretive themes of architecture, art, and social history in new, and often multi-disciplinary, ways. We hope to see you soon.
All programs are open to the public.
Dates and times are subject to change. Glessner House curator Janice Hack will explore the Glessner family's connections to Swedenborgianism as well as the question of why prominent people, including poets, artists, and writers, were attracted to his ideas. We'll also take a look at the environment of spiritual questing during the Gilded Age. Swedenborgian minister Terry Schnarr will provide an inside look at the belief system of this still-vital esoteric Christian denomination. Admittedly pleasing to the eye, the standard of feminine beauty established by the artists and models of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is an idealized aesthetic that continues to plague real women today.