- About [1]
- Board of Directors [2]
- Committee Members [3]
- 2013–2014 Calendar [4]
[5]
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.
[6]
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
[7]
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
[8]
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.