Archibald Gracie is Being Gracious.
Did you know that all New York City mayors from Fiorello LaGuardia in 1942 until current Mayor de Blasio have lived at Gracie Mansion? The only exception was Mayor Bloomberg.
Oh the history of this place. The original owner in 1799 was shipping merchant Archibald Gracie and now his spirit has been gracious enough to share his mansion with New York City's finest women artists, in an exhibit called "She Persists: A Century of Women Artists in New York".
So if you visit now, you will not only experience the history of the People's House (a term put forth by the Bloomberg administration to increase and encourage public access) but also the work of New York City Women Artists from 1919 until 2019. And if that isn't cool enough , in light of all the women who have recently won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives there is a timely tribute to Brooklyn's own,"Unbossed and Unbought", Shirley Chisholm. Shirley in 1968 was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress and the first African American candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States.
Whatever form of art catches your fancy, or speaks to your soul, the new Gracie exhibit has it. On display are 60 works of art: Oil on Canvas, Abstract Art, Prints, Photography, Quilt, Ceramics, Video, Sculpture, Etchings, Furniture, Hand Crafted Dolls. All of these pieces are created by New York City Women artists. To name a few: Dorothy Eisner (Washington Square Park), Elizabeth Colomba (Haven), Lee Krasner (Free Space), Shinoda Toko (Fugue), Ruth Orkin (Mother and Daughter at Penn Station), Martha Rosler (Semiotics of the Kitchen), Kara Walker (Invasive Species), Isabel Bishop (Etchings), Florence Knoll (Knoll Lounge Chairs) and the sweet surprise, Katharine Clarissa Eileen McCray, mother of NYC's first lady, Chirlane McCray (Quashie Hand Crafted Dolls)
The exhibit is open until December 2nd, 2019. So history buffs and lovers of the arts, and I'm sure many of you are both, this is for you. And all of this good stuff is free. Tours are on Mondays at 10:00AM, 11:00AM and 5:00PM. Make a reservation here to visit.
Theresa LaSalle
Contributing Writer
Theresa taught history and political science for 34 years in New York City Public High Schools, 19 years at Seward Park and the last 14 years at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She is a born and raised New Yorker from the borough of Queens and currently lives in Jackson Heights. She is madly in love with her city and is the forever tourist in her own town. You will see her wandering in each borough as her curiosity almost exhausts her.
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