Home / What's Going On / Press Releases / 3-12-2008
Museum Artifact Featured in National Program
A silver tea service, ca. 1840-50, from the artifact collection of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh is featured in a new nationwide program, Picturing America. On Feb. 26 at the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) launched Picturing America, an innovative program that enhances the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture by bringing some of America’s greatest works of art into school classrooms and public libraries.
Picturing America is comprised of 40 large, color reproductions of works of art spanning several centuries — all by American painters, craftspeople, sculptors, photographers and architects — from some of the most important museums and institutions in the country. The selected artists range from early American Indian artisans to painters Mary Cassatt and Norman Rockwell, from photographers Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange to architects Frank Lloyd Wright and William Van Alen.
Thomas William Brown (Wilmington, N.C.), tea service. Silver, ca. 1840-50. Courtesy N.C. Museum of History, Raleigh, N.C.
Says Ken Howard, director of the N.C. Museum of History, “We are honored that one of our artifacts, along with those from other prestigious museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, was selected for inclusion in this program that will reach millions of people.” The museum’s tea service was crafted prior to the Civil War by Wilmington silversmith Thomas William Brown, who opened a shop in the coastal city in 1823.
Picturing America is a free resource with a comprehensive educational package featuring lesson plans and a teacher resource book. Public, private, parochial, and charter and homeschool consortia (K-12), as well as public libraries in the United States and its territories, are eligible to receive Picturing America materials. Interested schools and public libraries can apply through the NEH, with an application deadline of April 15, 2008, for receipt in the fall. Detailed instructions for submitting an application can be found in the “Apply Now” section of the Picturing America Web site, PicturingAmerica.neh.gov.
About the National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, exhibitions and programs in libraries, museums and other community places. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available on the Internet at www.neh.gov.
For more information about the N.C. Museum of History, call 919-807-7900.
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