Staten Island Museum
Encyclopedia
Staten Island Museum is Staten Island
’s oldest cultural institution, and the only remaining general interest museum
in New York City
.
Founded in 1881 by fourteen of New York City’s first “environmental activists”, the Staten Island Museum houses artifacts and specimens from ancient to contemporary periods. This “mini-Smithsonian” is rich with arts, natural sciences and local history.
The museum’s holdings are formally organized into three main collections: Natural Sciences, Fine Art and History Archives & Library. The natural science collections encompass over 500,000 botanical, biological, anthropological and mineral specimens including bird nests and eggs, mounted animals, fossils, shells, and a significant collection of insects, including important type of specimens. Based upon a 19th century model, the art collection includes works spanning prehistory to the modern period, with representations of diverse world cultures from both the Western and Non-Western traditions. The historical collections include a library, maps and atlases, early films, audio recordings, photographs, historical objects, ephemera and archival documents reaching back to the 17th century.
, along with Nathaniel Lord Britton
, Arthur Hollick, Charles W. Leng
, are some of the founding fathers who also contributed significantly to the city’s nature preserve, research and education. The museum focused on environmental protection and has participated in the preservation of High Rock Park and the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. Since 1908, the staff has conducted annual bird counts together with the Audubon Society. In 1909, the Section of Art was organized, and in 1919 the Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences was incorporated to reflect the broader mission which also includes local history.
The museum has been called a "Mini Smithsonian" because of the breadth of its collections, and is based on a 19th century model of creating within one's own community the complete resources for a cultural education. As a general interest museum, it is one of the last intact examples of the first type of public museum in America, and today serves a diverse audience of 80,000 people annually, with the goal of providing fascinating cross-disciplinary exhibitions for a wide cross-section of visitors.
As the oldest cultural organization on Staten Island, the museum has been instrumental in the founding of many other cultural organizations in the area. These include the New York Botanical Garden
(the institute's co-founder Nathaniel Lord Britton
became its first director), the Staten Island Zoo
(originally the Staten Island Zoological Society, a Section of the Museum in 1933), the Staten Island Historical Society
(running Historic Richmond Town
), and the Staten Island Children's Museum. The museum also greatly impacted Staten Island's environment, contributing to the preservation of the Greenbelt
and establishment of other environmental organizations.
(1674) and King William III
(1696) as well as a 1776 military document signed by William Howe
, Commander in Chief of the British Armies.
collection (approx. 35,000 specimens) in North America, which includes numerous type specimens of species originally described by William T. Davis
.
collection, including type specimens of plant fossils first discovered on Staten Island.
exhibit in the New York City metropolitan area, drawn from over 10,000 objects found on Staten Island and dating from 10,000 B.C. to the 17th century.
through photographs, artwork, ship models and artifacts from ferries' past, now including the over 50-year-old statuesque U.S. Navy Mark V Diving Suit who is affectionately referred to as the Diverman.
certification, including geo-thermal heating. The mainly city-funded ($23 million) renovation of Building A (Art) will be completed in 2013, adding over 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²), with additional space to follow in Building B (Bio-Diversity) three to four years later.
The new museum will open with the anticipated blockbuster 'The Island Scene/Seen', an interpretation of Staten Island across three centuries, including commissioned works by contemporary artists and featuring Hudson River School landscape paintings by Jasper Cropsey and Edward Moran
from the museum's collection.
In addition, a life size replica of a mastodon
skeleton will greet visitors as they enter the new museum, a creature that once roamed the hills of Staten Island as evidenced by local discoveries held in the museum's fossil collection on display in the new lobby.
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
’s oldest cultural institution, and the only remaining general interest museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Founded in 1881 by fourteen of New York City’s first “environmental activists”, the Staten Island Museum houses artifacts and specimens from ancient to contemporary periods. This “mini-Smithsonian” is rich with arts, natural sciences and local history.
The museum’s holdings are formally organized into three main collections: Natural Sciences, Fine Art and History Archives & Library. The natural science collections encompass over 500,000 botanical, biological, anthropological and mineral specimens including bird nests and eggs, mounted animals, fossils, shells, and a significant collection of insects, including important type of specimens. Based upon a 19th century model, the art collection includes works spanning prehistory to the modern period, with representations of diverse world cultures from both the Western and Non-Western traditions. The historical collections include a library, maps and atlases, early films, audio recordings, photographs, historical objects, ephemera and archival documents reaching back to the 17th century.
History
The Staten Island Museum was founded in 1881 as a private society of local naturalists and antiquarians who pooled their personal collections to create the public museum in 1908. William T. DavisWilliam T. Davis
William Thompson Davis was an American naturalist, entomologist, and historian especially associated with Staten Island in New York City. He was prominent in the borough's affairs throughout his life....
, along with Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton was an American botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York...
, Arthur Hollick, Charles W. Leng
Charles W. Leng
Charles William Leng was an American naturalist and historian especially associated with Staten Island, New York, where he was the borough historian from 1923 until the 1930s....
, are some of the founding fathers who also contributed significantly to the city’s nature preserve, research and education. The museum focused on environmental protection and has participated in the preservation of High Rock Park and the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. Since 1908, the staff has conducted annual bird counts together with the Audubon Society. In 1909, the Section of Art was organized, and in 1919 the Staten Island Institute of Arts & Sciences was incorporated to reflect the broader mission which also includes local history.
The museum has been called a "Mini Smithsonian" because of the breadth of its collections, and is based on a 19th century model of creating within one's own community the complete resources for a cultural education. As a general interest museum, it is one of the last intact examples of the first type of public museum in America, and today serves a diverse audience of 80,000 people annually, with the goal of providing fascinating cross-disciplinary exhibitions for a wide cross-section of visitors.
As the oldest cultural organization on Staten Island, the museum has been instrumental in the founding of many other cultural organizations in the area. These include the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
(the institute's co-founder Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton
Nathaniel Lord Britton was an American botanist and taxonomist who founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. Britton was born in New Dorp in Staten Island, New York...
became its first director), the Staten Island Zoo
Staten Island Zoo
The Staten Island Zoo is a small urban zoo in northern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. The zoo is open year round except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day...
(originally the Staten Island Zoological Society, a Section of the Museum in 1933), the Staten Island Historical Society
Staten Island Historical Society
The purpose of the Staten Island Historical Society is to create opportunities for the public to explore the diversity of the American experience, especially that of Staten Island and its neighboring communities, from the colonial period to the present day...
(running Historic Richmond Town
Historic Richmond Town
Historic Richmond Town is a living history village and museum complex in the neighborhood of Richmond, Staten Island, in New York City. It is located near the geographical center of the island, at the junction of Richmond Road and Arthur Kill Road....
), and the Staten Island Children's Museum. The museum also greatly impacted Staten Island's environment, contributing to the preservation of the Greenbelt
Staten Island Greenbelt
The Staten Island Greenbelt is a system of contiguous public parkland and natural areas in the central hills of the New York City borough of Staten Island...
and establishment of other environmental organizations.
Current mission
It is the mission of the Staten Island Museum to document, research, preserve, collect, interpret and exhibit significant objects and themes in the areas of natural science, art and local history, with the goal of educating, celebrating and enriching the community of Staten Island in particular, and the New York metropolitan region in general.Art
The Museum’s art collection ranges from ancient Egyptian sculpture, to Renaissance paintings, to 19th century Hudson River School landscapes of Staten Island and New York Harbor, to 21st century abstract art, photography and new media. It is the only museum actively collecting works by contemporary Staten Island artists. Its collections include American landscape paintings, Old Master prints, historic costume pieces and costume accessories, African sculpture and masks, Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Japanese prints, Pre-Columbian ceramics, ancient and modern Native American artifacts, English and American silver, and both Western and Non-Western objects of vertu, for example collections of Chinese snuff bottles, carved smoking pipes, and pocket watches, the bequests of local benefactor-collectors. It has a group of Samuel H. Kress Italian Renaissance paintings, and several complementary small 19th century Renaissance-revival bronzes. There are important 19th-20th century paintings featuring Staten Island and New York Harbor, fine 19th and 20th century portraits, and works by prominent local contemporary artists. Examples of traditional representational art in the Staten Island Museum’s permanent collection include prints by Rembrandt, Goya, Piranesi and Audubon, paintings by Cropsey, Moran, Alma-Tadema, Giovanni di Paolo and Pordenone, sculpture by Hiram Powers and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. There are Japanese prints by Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro and Kunisada. The Modern Art collection includes works by John Sloane, Guy Pene du Bois, George Bellows, Chagall, Leger, Maillol, Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, Isabel Bishop, Peter Max, Donald Judd and the folk artist Clementine Hunter. Over 150 women artists are represented in the Staten Island Museum’s holdings.History
The museum has over half a million items in the local History Collection, including authentic land grants with the wax seals of King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(1674) and King William III
King William III
William III may refer to:* William III of Aquitaine * William III of Toulouse * William III of Provence * William III of Montferrat * William III of Angoulême * William III of Ponthieu William III may refer to:* William III of Aquitaine (915–963)* William III of Toulouse (died 1037)* William III of...
(1696) as well as a 1776 military document signed by William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
, Commander in Chief of the British Armies.
Natural Science
The Museum houses a 130-year comprehensive record of the changing biodiversity of the New York metro area, fully documented with specimens, including specimens of birds and mammals, a collection of fish, amphibians and reptiles preserved in alcohol, 500,000 mounted insects, and 25,000 plants preserved in the herbarium.Beauty Rediscovered: Paintings by Adeline Albright Wigand & Otto Charles
The Wigands studied with important artists of the 19th – early 20th century in New York and Paris, and brought the fruits of their classical training and education to Staten Island where they lived and worked from 1916 until their deaths in 1944. The exhibition contains nearly 50 works, including 4 from the Staten Island Museum’s permanent collection. The remaining pieces are made available courtesy of private collectors, many of which are Wigand family members.Cicada Collection
A display of the largest cicadaCicada
A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha , in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many of them remain unclassified...
collection (approx. 35,000 specimens) in North America, which includes numerous type specimens of species originally described by William T. Davis
William T. Davis
William Thompson Davis was an American naturalist, entomologist, and historian especially associated with Staten Island in New York City. He was prominent in the borough's affairs throughout his life....
.
The Wall of Insects
A display of over 150 beetles, cicadas, butterflies and moths from the permanent collection.Hall of Natural Sciences
Highlights from the museum’s natural sciences collection, displayed in a manner reminiscent of a late 19th century museum, including mounted birds and mammals, bird’s eggs and nests, rocks, minerals and fossils, seashells, plants, insects, a Victorian shadowbox, and a fluorescent mineral room.Geology Collection
A display of a wide-ranging Staten Island geologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
collection, including type specimens of plant fossils first discovered on Staten Island.
The Lenape: The first Staten Islanders
The most comprehensive LenapeLenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
exhibit in the New York City metropolitan area, drawn from over 10,000 objects found on Staten Island and dating from 10,000 B.C. to the 17th century.
Staten Island Ferry Exhibition - the only Staten Island Ferry exhibition in the nation
The exhibit pays homage to the history of the Staten Island FerryStaten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
through photographs, artwork, ship models and artifacts from ferries' past, now including the over 50-year-old statuesque U.S. Navy Mark V Diving Suit who is affectionately referred to as the Diverman.
Operations at Snug Harbor
In addition to its original building located just two blocks from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Staten Island’s "hometown" museum is operating its Art Conservation Studio and the Staten Island History Center & Archives at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, an 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) campus of landmark Greek Revival buildings, joining other cultural institutions at the site. The museum is transforming from the 19th century model of a museum as a "cabinet of curiosities", into a fully realized 21st century institution that is accessible, diverse, technologically advanced, and demonstrates leadership in collections management, exhibitions, education and public programming.New museum
The new museum, on the Snug Harbor Campus, is the first federal historic landmark on Staten Island designed to achieve LEED GoldLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
certification, including geo-thermal heating. The mainly city-funded ($23 million) renovation of Building A (Art) will be completed in 2013, adding over 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²), with additional space to follow in Building B (Bio-Diversity) three to four years later.
The new museum will open with the anticipated blockbuster 'The Island Scene/Seen', an interpretation of Staten Island across three centuries, including commissioned works by contemporary artists and featuring Hudson River School landscape paintings by Jasper Cropsey and Edward Moran
Edward Moran
Edward Moran was an American artist.He emigrated with his family to America at the age of 15, and subsequently settled in Philadelphia, where after having followed his fathers trade of weaver, he became a pupil of James Hamilton and Paul Weber...
from the museum's collection.
In addition, a life size replica of a mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
skeleton will greet visitors as they enter the new museum, a creature that once roamed the hills of Staten Island as evidenced by local discoveries held in the museum's fossil collection on display in the new lobby.