Image Above: Charles Thomson, by Joseph Wright, late 18th century, Tudor Place Historic House and Garden, Washington, D.C.
Painting Princeton 1783
Gallery tour and lecture at Morven Museum & Garden
Thursday, November 6, 2:30 p.m.
Anne Gossen, Curator of Exhibitions, addresses the four renowned artists whose work is featured in the exhibition Picturing Princeton 1783. Joseph Wright and William Dunlap, both New Jersey artists, traveled to Princeton in 1783 seeking commissions and painted, among others, George Washington. Joseph’s mother Patience Wright was a sculptor of international reputation. Charles Willson Peale, regarded as the foremost portrait painter of the 18th century, was commissioned in 1783 by the College of New Jersey to paint a picture of George Washington. Several paintings by his sons Rembrandt and Raphael Peale, professionals in their own turn, are on display.
“The Curtain of Separation Will Soon be Drawn”: The General Takes His Leave
Rockingham State Historic Site, Kingston, NJ
Saturday & Sunday, November 8 & 9, all day
Von Heer’s Marechausee is encamped once more, guarding General Washington in his final days at Rockingham. On Sunday, the General takes his leave of those assembled with a review of the major events during his tenure at the site, including the official word of the signing of the Treaty of Paris to formally end the American Revolution and the Farewell Orders to the Armies, penned during his stay. For more information visit www.rockingham.net.
November 7, 8, and 9 (Dinner)
Yankee Doodle Tap Room, Nassau Inn
The Yankee Doodle Tap Room in the historic Nassau Inn invites you to enjoy a special 1783 Revolutionary 18th-Century Three-Course Dinner Menu for $17.83 per person. The Tap Room will also feature a specialty rum drink – The Continental. For more information and to make reservations, call 609-688-2600 or visit www.nassauinn.com.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra
Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University
Sunday, November 9, 4 p.m.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra, with guest conductor Tito Muñoz, has dedicated this concert's program to the Princeton 1783 Celebration. Included on the program is a major classical composition written in 1783, the elegant Haydn Cello Concerto in D Major, which will be performed by internationally renowned British cellist, Stephen Isserlis. Afterwards, the audience is invited to a reception and tour of Morven and the 1783 exhibition on view there. Free pre-concert lecture at 3:00 pm. Tickets: $64, $50, $36, $16, available starting July 1, 2008 by calling 609-497-0020. Program subject to change. For more information visit www.princetonsymphony.org.
Revolutionary Ideas
Westminster Choir College of Rider University
Sunday, November 9, 3 p.m.
Joe Miller conducts this performance of the Westminster Choir, featuring landmark choral works that challenge the mind and the spirit. Bristol Chapel, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton
Tickets: $15 adults; $10 students/seniors. Box office: 609-921-2663 For more information visit www.rider.edu/westminster.
Image Above: Franklinia, engraved by P.J. Redouté, 1819, from F. A. Michaux’s North American Sylva
1783: New Beginning for an American Garden
The Isabel Bartenstein Garden Lecture
Sponsored by Morven Museum & Garden
Held at the Present Day Club, 72 Stockton Street
Thursday, November 13, 2.p.m.
Advance reservations required.
The spring of 1783 saw the return of peace to Europe and North America. John and William Bartram of Philadelphia returned to the business that had made their father famous. They issued a large broadside list, a plant catalogue that named and described the plants and seeds available for sale from their family botanic garden, Bartram's Garden. This lecture will look at events in 1783, and consider the Bartram list as it relates to garden history and natural science. Joel T. Fry, curator at Bartram’s Garden, America’s oldest botanical garden, began his career in archaeology. Gripped by the story of John Bartram, an independent-minded Quaker and father of 11 who taught himself Latin and botany and became the King’s Botanist for North America, Fry evolved into one of the most knowledgeable garden historians in the country. Among his numerous publications about John and William Bartram and the plants they discovered and propagated is “An International Catalogue of North American Trees and Shrubs: The Bartram Broadside, 1783,” an important record that has informed gardeners and historians since 1996.
American Traditions
Westminster Kantorei, Westminster Choir College of Rider University
Sunday, November 16, 3 p.m.
Andrew Megill conducts the Westminster Kantorei, performing traditional shape-note choral works and their musical descendants. Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton. Tickets: $15 for adults; $10 students/seniors. Box office: 609-921-2663. For more information visit www.rider.edu/westminster.
- 1783 exhibition Picturing Princeton (Morven)
- Drumthwacket tours
- 1783 walking tours (Historical Society of Princeton)
- 1783 teas (Morven)
- Princeton University tours
- School programs (Morven)
- Children’s Passport to Princeton History in 1783: Finding George Washington
- Princeton Public Library programs
- Historic science experiment
- Westminster Choir College summer music
- Princeton University Art Museum
