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Antiquarian Society

The Antiquarian Society continues a tradition begun well over a century ago to provide funding for acquisitions to the museum’s departments of American Art and European Decorative Arts.

Founded in 1877 as the Chicago Society of Decorative Art, the Antiquarian Society originally sought to help impoverished women master the skills of an honorable trade, particularly by training women artists and artisans in the applied arts. with the aid of teachers in drawing, painting, and needlework, the early Antiquarians embarked on improving the quality of women’s work and creating a market for it. Admiration for the resultant handiwork was so great that the society was invited to occupy rooms at the newly organized Art Institute of Chicago.
 
In 1888, Mrs. Mary E. Pode purchased the society’s entire stock of art objects and assumed all financial responsibilities for it. Later that year, a motion was made to allocate a portion of the accumulated funds for the purchase of a collection to donate to the Art Institute. On April 7, 1891, a proposal was sent to the board “that the money now in the treasury ... be applied to the purchase of articles pertaining to the Industrial Arts, such as pottery, china, embroideries, laces, etc., to be presented to the Art Institute and marked in such a way that credit should be given to the society for the gift.”
 
On November 10, 1894, the society was renamed Antiquarians of the Art Institute to more accurately reflect the future purpose of the organization. In 1908, the board decided to further alter the name to the Antiquarian Society of the Art Institute of Chicago.
 
The Antiquarian Society of today, having played an important role in fostering the early collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and subsequently assuring its continued growth through donations of funds for acquisitions, maintains the tradition of support through the continuing generosity of its members.

Membership in the Antiquarian Society is by invitation.

President
Mrs. Thomas J. Tausché

Vice President
Mrs. Philip S. J. Moriarty

Secretary
Mrs. Frank C. Schroeder III

Assistant Secretary
Mrs. Byron C. Karzas

Treasurer
Mrs. John J. Borland

Assistant Treasurer
Ms. Lynn Orschel   
 
Directors
Mrs. Keene H. Addington II

Mrs. Merrick J. Axel

Mrs. Philip D. Block III

Mrs. Samuel H. Ellis

Mrs. Robert H. Fesmire

Mrs. James T. Glerum

Mrs. Walter M. Mack

Mrs. Kurt Mancillas

Mrs. Andrew J. McKenna

Mrs. James E. Morris

Mrs. Charles F. Nadler

Mrs. Thomas E. O’Neill III

Mrs. James H. Schink

Mrs. Paul R. C. Sullivan

Mrs. William R. Tobey


President's Council
Mrs. James A. Alsdorf
Mrs. John A. Bross
Mrs. Edward Hines
Mrs. William R. Jentes
Mrs. John K. Notz, Jr.
Mrs. Richard J. L. Senior
Mrs. Morris S. Weeden
Mrs. George B. Young

Membership
Mrs. Gordon Lang, Jr.

Finance                                       
Mrs. John J. Borland                           
Mrs. Edward Hines                               
Mrs. William R. Jentes                                   
Ms. Lynn Orschel
Mrs. William R. Tobey

Programs/Workshops                                                              
Ms. Erica C. Meyer

Holiday Tea                                 
Mrs. Edward R Weed                                   
Mrs. Fred A Krehbeil
Mrs. Keene H. Addington                           
Mrs. Charles F. Nadler

Spring Luncheon                                   
Mrs. James H. Schink

Antiques Show                                   
Mrs. Richard M. Norton   

Greeters
Mrs. Gerald O. Strauch
Mrs. Jonathan A. Veeder   

Purchasing                                   
Mrs. Samuel Grober                                   
Mrs. Fred A. Krehbeil                                   
Mrs. John W. Madigan   

The following events are restricted to members of the Antiquarian Society and their guests. Unless noted, monthly programs begin with a lecture at 11:00 a.m., followed by a lunch at noon.

 

Lecture/Lunch
Vanderbilt Taste Meets the English Country House: The Transformation of Blenheim
Tuesday, October 8
11:00 a.m.
Paul Miller, curator of the Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island

Meeting/Lunch
Tuesday, November 12
11:00 a.m.

Lecture/Lunch
Annual Meeting: Our Spirited Ancestors—The Decorative Art of Drink
Tuesday, December 10
11:00 a.m.
Daniel K. Ackermann, associate curator of decorative arts, The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

Lecture/Lunch
Plain or Fancy: Making Judgments about the Decorative Arts
Tuesday, January 14
11:00 a.m.
Luke Syson, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lecture/Lunch
275 Years in the Making: The History of New Jersey Glass
Tuesday, February 11
11:00 a.m.
Gay Leclaire Taylor, former director of the Museum of American Glass, Wheaton Village, New Jersey

Lecture/Lunch
Victoria Mansion: European Style in Mid-19th-Century Maine
Tuesday, March 11
11:00 a.m.
Arlene Palmer Schwind, curator of the Victoria Mansion in Portland, Maine

Lecture/Lunch
Silver of the Young American Republic
Tuesday, April 8
11:00 a.m.
Ann Wagner, associate curator of decorative arts, Winterthur Museums

Annual Spring Luncheon at the Casino
A Visit to Chateau du Grand Lucé—Restoring and Decorating a Great Country House
Tuesday, April 29
10:45 a.m.
Timothy Corrigan, principal, Timothy Corrigan, Inc. Interior Design Firm

Lecture/Afternoon Tea
Irish Glass in Dublin: Highlights from the Corning Collection
Tuesday, May 13
1:00 p.m.
Dr. Audrey Whitty, curator of European glass, Corning Museum of Glass, New York

Unless noted, all programs take place at the Art Institute of Chicago.





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