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Antiques That Speak Year: - 2007 ANTIQUES THAT SPEAK: COLLECTING LONG ISLAND’S PAST Presented by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities Now through January 2008 SPLIA Gallery, Cold Spring Harbor (Directions and contact information below) Featuring many of the Society’s most important acquisitions over the last decade and a half including paintings, furniture, colonial clothing and Civil War swords Visitors will see Robert Feke’s (1707-1752) portrait of his niece, Levinah “Phiany” Cock of Oyster Bay, Orlando Hand Bears’ (1811-1851) portrait of Sarah Ann Eldredge of Sag Harbor and William M. Davis’ (1829-1920) view of the Baptist Church in Port Jefferson. There are also the watercolors of Edward Lange (1845-1912). The Elwood painter recorded a remarkable portrait of Long Island’s landscape long before the Long Island Expressway and Levittown. Most Long Islanders have heard of one of our earliest settlers here, the Gardiners, of Gardiner’s Island. Come see a pair of slippers (see photo below), a fan and a purse which belonged to Mary Gardiner (1740-1772), the daughter of John Gardiner, the Fifth Proprietor of Gardiner’s Island. These 18th century accessories still bear their London label. If you enjoy antique furniture, this exhibit includes a New York tea table that descended in the family of Declaration of Independence signer, William Floyd of Mastic (1734-1821). There are also two magnificent high chests attributed to Caleb Cooper (1745-1834) of Southampton and William Stoddard (1690-1758) of Oyster Bay. Those interested in the American Civil War will be fascinated by a Tiffany Presentation Sword the Society recently acquired. They belonged to Obadiah Jackson Downing (1835-1925), a dashing Civil War cavalry officer from Mineola, who fought in 130 battles and skirmishes and was at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, where he witnessed Lincoln’s assassination and helped carry the dying President from the building. This historic scene is depicted in Carl Bersch’s 1865 painting, Borne by Loving Hands, which has been loaned to the exhibit by Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site. This exhibition reflects the sea change in the range of what the Society has collected since the opening of its Gallery for changing exhibitions in Cold Spring Harbor in 1990. Previously the focus had been on the furnishing needs of the Society’s 18th and early 19th century historic house museums, but has now broadened to include late 19th and early 20th century objects and ephemera. Emphasis is placed on acquisitions, which can tell more than one story and speak to the Society’s long-standing interests in the decorative arts, architecture, planning and design, transportation and recreation. The SPLIA Gallery is located in Cold Spring Harbor at the corner of Route 25A and Shore Road (across from the fire house). Exhibit hours are 11am until 5pm, Thursday through Sunday. Admission is $1.00 631-367-6295 (SPLIA Gallery) 631.692.4664 (Headquarters) www.splia.org.

SPLIA’s Museum Gallery, at the corner of Main Street (25A) and Shore Road in Cold Spring Harbor, features changing exhibitions about Long Island’s significant cultural heritage. The Gallery’s Museum Shop has an excellent selection of books and objects related to Long Island history.

SPLIA Gallery is open daily 11am-5pm
$1 Admission
The Gallery closes for periodic exhibit changes.
Call ahead 631-367-6295  

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