Mattatuck Museum - Exhibits and Collections

Calendar

Jazz First Thursdays
and
TGI Thursdays
Gallery Talks
Family Programs
Exhibitions

New programs, exhibits, and other events are being added here all the time. Check back often to see what's happening!

Jazz First Thursdays and TGI Thursdays
Join us to celebrate the arts and culture in the Waterbury Region with music, and socializing from 5:30-7:30 PM. Museum members $7, non-members $15. Join the museum or renew your membership on First Thursday and get in free! See schedule of upcoming performances.

Lectures and Gallery Talks
The Art of Flamenco Guitar: A Recital and Reception with Val Ramos
Friday, January 22, 2010 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
F. Luis Mora drew much of his inspiration from the Spanish culture. Join us for a celebration of his Spanish heritage and art with a concert by renowned Flamenco guitarist Val Ramos. Mr. Ramos performs a recital and then provides background music as you revisit your favorite Mora works.

Responding to Adversity: Waterbury in Hard Times
A Gallery Talk with Jeremy Brecher
Thursday, January 28, 2010 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
From the periodic depressions that virtually stopped industry in the 19th and 20th centuries to the plant closings of the 1970s and 80s, residents of the Naugatuck Valley have often had to deal with hard times. Learn how local people responded; the Waterbury Mutual Aid and the Unemployed Councils of the Great Depression, and the factory buyouts and coops of the 1980s are just two examples. Join historian Jeremy Brecher as he explores what we can learn from the past when planning future efforts at economic reconstruction.

Rediscovering Connecticut Artists of the Early 20th Century
Panel Discussion and Closing Celebration Event of the F. Luis Mora Exhibition
Sunday, February 7, 2010 2:00 - 3:30 pm
Many artists move from acclaim to obscurity as their styles fall out of fashion. Join our distinguished panel of art experts, William Gerdts, Ph.D., Jeffrey Cooley, Peter Falk and Lynne Pauls Baron, as they examine Connecticut artists who were popular during their lifetimes but whose life and art are now in various stages of rediscovery. A reception immediately follows the panel discussion.

William H. Gerdts is internationally known as a leading authority on American Art. He is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Graduate School of City University of New York and the author of over twenty-five books on American art including American Impressionism, Painters of the Humble Truth, and the three-volume series Art Across America: Two Centuries of Regional Painting.
Lynne Pauls Baron is the principal of Baron Art Estate Managers, author of F. Luis Mora: America's First Hispanic Master, and co-curator of F. Luis Mora and the Expression of Beauty.
Jeffrey Cooley is the director of The Cooley Gallery in Old Lyme; his primary interest is American art of the mid-19th century with a focus on painters of the Hudson River School, and on American Impressionism and contemporary realism.
Peter Hastings Falk is the president of Hastings Art Management, author of the biographical dictionary Who Was Who in American Art, and editor of F. Luis Mora: America's First Hispanic Master.

Register in advance by calling 203-753-0381 ext 10. We are grateful to the TD Charitable Foundation for funding the panel discussion, and Bicardi U.S.A. Inc. for hosting the reception.

Growing Up in Fluteville and Campville:
A Conversation with Those Who Lived There
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Step back to a time when Fluteville and Campville flourished - a time before the flood control dam covered them with water. Life was simpler in these early 20th century New England villages, which consisted of only a few public buildings and a dozen or so farm houses. Join museum curator Cynthia Roznoy, Ph.D. and author Romily Cochrane Cofrancesco who set the historical stage as former Campville residents Arthur Kelley and Louella Barte share memories of growing up in the now lost villages.

More Than Memories: An Oral History Workshop
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Oral history is increasingly being used to capture the past. Join University of Connecticut Professor Ruth Glasser, Ph.D. and historian Jeremy Brecher as they lead an oral history workshop designed for historical society members, museum professionals, and anyone else interested in preserving the past. Topics will include: an introduction to the field of oral history; the mechanics of oral history - planning a project, interview techniques, equipment needs, transcribing, and archiving; and how oral histories can be employed to illuminate the past. A hands-on practice session will conclude the program. Registration Fee: $35 (includes lunch) Reservations necessary, call 203-753-0381 x 10

History Bites: Letters from Paris...and Naugatuck
Thursday, May 6, 2010 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Join Ann Smith as she tells how letters bring great personal insights to larger historical narratives. In her newly published book, Hidden in Plain Sight: The Whittemore Collection and the French Impressionists, first hand perspectives recorded in personal letters reveal the family's evolving attitudes about the paintings as well as the Whittemores' friendship with artist Mary Cassatt. Among the earliest American collectors of French Impressionism, the Naugatuck-based Whittemores assembled a collection of more than 1,000 works of art between 1890 and 1927, including important works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and James Whistler. A book signing will follow the program.

Family and Children's Programs
Museum Sundays Free Admission for Everyone!
Second Sunday of the Month (January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, 2010)
Noon - 5:00 pm Art Tour at 1:00 pm, History Tour at 2:00 pm
On the second Sunday of every month explore the museum at no charge, and enjoy free tours of the art and history galleries. Art galleries feature 300 years of work by Connecticut artists. The history exhibit provides dramatic you-were-there experiences of the history of the Waterbury region, and the Waterbury Button Museum displays 10,000 exquisite buttons from all over the world. New family activities every month!

Sunday, January 10, 2010 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Tour of "F. Luis Mora and the Expression of Beauty" in Spanish by Judy Kollias

Sunday, February 14, 2010 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Be My Valentine: Family Valentine Workshop
Enjoy antique valentines from the museum's collection, and make beautiful valentines to touch the hearts of your family and friends.

Sunday, March 14, 2010 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Home Sweet Home - How the Brookside Community Was Built
In the 1980s as rents soared and conditions deteriorated, tenants at Waterbury's Shamrock Ridge Housing Development organized and decided to build their own housing development. Join Carol Burkhart Lyons, Naugatuck Valley Project organizer, as she describes how the residents created a permanently affordable, self-managed community that now serves as a nationally recognized model. A resident of the Brookside Community will graciously open her home for a tour.

Sunday, April 11, 2010 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Family History Day: Preserving Memories Using Oral Histories
Preserve the memories of your loved ones by learning how to record an oral history. During this hands-on workshop you'll learn while doing - interviews, tape recording, and photo scanning!

Exhibitions
Our Beautiful City - Vintage Postcards and Photographs of Waterbury
February 27, 2010 - May 30, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, February 26, 2010 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
See Waterbury at its zenith in this exhibition of vintage turn-of-the-century postcards – a thriving business center with rich architecture and fascinating entertainments. Then take in a more personal view through the black-and-white photographs of Waterbury native and amateur photographer Frederick Stone (1870-1940). It’s a glimpse into our beautiful city that you won’t want to miss!

The Lost Villages of Fluteville and Campville
March 27, 2010 - September 5, 2010
Opening Reception: March 26, 2010 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The life of these lost communities is told in words, images and objects from those who lived in these old New England villages, destroyed to make way for a flood control dam.

F. Luis Mora and the Expression of Beauty
Continues Through February 7, 2010
Mora's affectionate depictions of domestic life, picturesque landscapes, spirited genre scenes, and richly detailed, romanticized images of women from history, myth and his own life are featured. These evocative works combine an intense awareness of his Spanish roots with a warm appreciation of urban and country life in the United States.

Banded Together: The Story of the Naugatuck Valley Project
Continues Through March 14, 2010
What happens when a group of churches, trade unions, and business and community groups band together to create jobs, affordable housing, and critical public and private services for one of the oldest and poorest industrial areas in the nation? Learn about the people behind these projects.

Waterbury Architectural Walking Tours
Eight distinct audio tours of Waterbury architecture downloaded to MP3 players. Available at the museum's reception desk at no charge.