Hudson River Museum
Overlooking
the Hudson River and Palisades in northwest Yonkers,
the Museum actively reaches out to broaden the cultural
horizons of its visitors with a special emphasis on
families. The Museum celebrates the artistic legacy
and cultural diversity of the Lower Hudson River Valley
using an impressive collections of paintings (including
Hudson River landscapes), sculpture, decorative arts,
costumes and photographs.
The Hudson River Museum has long been
an important center for the arts in lower Westchester.
And it has been getting better every year. It began
with Glenview, the John Bond Trevor Mansion, a beautiful
example of late Victorian style. Built in 1876, this
house has been restored and is a showcase for an important
collection of American and European fine and decorative
arts.
In an adjacent building, the museum's
contemporary galleries provide a dramatic setting for
changing exhibits of art, architecture, design, and
history. The Museum is one of the best places to view
works inspired by the Hudson, and has a national reputation
for its collections of photography, paintings, graphic
arts, and memorabilia relating to the region. Visitors
can call for a current exhibition schedule as well as
a calendar of the Special Events and Family Programs
offered throughout the year, which include Tours, Lectures,
Workshops, and other activities.
The Hudson River Museum collects 19th-
and 20th-c. American art and cultural, social and historical
material related to the Museum's historic Mansion and
the wider Westchester County/Hudson River Valley region.
Though the Museum's collecting focus has evolved over
its 84-year history, the trustees and staff have always
been concerned with the institution's value and relevance
to the surrounding region and its residents. The majority
of the collections have been donated by Museum members
and other local residents.
The Museum's collections have evolved
from the original holdings of the Yonkers Museum, which
was founded at City Hall in 1919, and relocated to the
Yonkers Museum of Arts and Science in 1924. During it's
early years, the Museum attempted to be much more global
in its programmatic approach. Collection materials were
placed on permanent display in galleries devoted to
natural history, earth science, local and world history,
and fine arts. In 1937, H. Armour Smith--an avid collector
of fine art, Americana and documentary materials--became
director. Smith advocated changing the Museum's name
to The Hudson River Museum--to acknowledge that its
collections documenting the Hudson River Valley were
of primary importance to the Museum's goals. In 1956,
the transfer of the stuffed elephant Tip, a popular
display since 1929, to the Elephant Hotel in Somers,
New York, was indicative of the changes that had occurred
in the Museum's perception of its mission.
By 1948, when the Museum was rechartered
by the New York State Board of Regents as The Hudson
River Museum at Yonkers, Inc., the collection had grown
to include a small group of 19th and 20th century fine
arts--paintings, sculptures, and graphic works--as well
as Victorian furniture, decorative arts and costumes,
and materials documenting local history. In 1969, the
New Wing added approximately 15,000 square feet of gallery
space. Whereas previously much of the museum in the
Mansion had been devoted to permanent displays, the
new galleries were used for changing exhibitions of
art, history and science. At the same time, the Mansion's
first floor was partially restored, with four furnished
period rooms and two small galleries for displaying
decorative and historical materials from the collection.
In the late 1970s, Director Richard
Koshalek proposed that the Museum, with little space
to devote to storing and exhibiting contemporary art,
could incorporate art of its time into the fabric of
the new building. With funds from the National Endowment
for the Arts and several foundations and corporations,
the Museum commissioned two permanent installations.
The first to be completed was Red Grooms' The Bookstore,
a sculptural environment that would also function as
the Museum' gift shop, followed by Dan Flavin's fluorescent
light installation Untitled (for Betty and Richard Koshalek,
a reminder), 1979.
Today, the Museum's collections reflect
its mission to provide for development, preservation,
and display of 19th- and 20th-century American art and
history. The staff regularly organizes special collection
exhibits and loan exhibits in which the permanent collections
can play a role. Paintings, furniture and decorative
arts are also always on view in the six period rooms
in Glenview Mansion and its second floor hall and Lifflander
Galleries.
Begun in 1876 and completed in 1877
and overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, six
period rooms of the Mansion have been restored to reflect
the lifestyle of its turn-of-the-century residents,
the John Bond Trevor family.
Located inside the museum, it is the
only public planetarium in Westchester County. Come
and explore the vast reaches of outer space as you've
never seen them before. It features a Zeiss M1015 Star
Machine.
Museum Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday 12-5pm, Friday 12-8pm, Closed Monday
& Tuesday
Museum Admission
Adult - $5, Seniors and Children - $3, Members Free
Planetarium
Hours
Saturday & Sunday Shows - 12:30pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm,
3:30pm, Free Friday Show 7 pm
Planetarium
Admission
Adults - $2, Seniors and Children - $1 |
