Curriculum Library
Explore all the New-York Historical Society-created curriculum materials, which align with New York State Learning Standards and contain lesson plans and primary sources (documents, photos, maps and more). Materials are available digitally and/or for purchase in hard copy, as indicated in the list below.
Hudson River Birds: In Celebration of the Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson’s Voyage
To thematically dovetail with the 400 year celebration of Henry Hudson's historic voyage of discovery, and the exhibition Dutch New York between East and West: The World of Margrieta van Varick at the Bard Graduate Center Gallery organized in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society, five of Audubon's watercolors of birds who perch or live along the Hudson River are displayed. One, the Hudsonian Godwit, is even named after a namesake of the explorer's and is found along the river during migration.
New York Painting Begins: Eighteenth-Century Portraits
In the past these paintings were valued for their insights into the lives of the sitters, and they include distinguished New Yorkers who played leading roles in its history. However, the focus in this exhibition is placed on the paintings themselves and their own histories as domestic objects, often passed through generations of family members. These works raise many questions, and given the sparse documentation from the period, not all of them can be definitively answered: why were these paintings made, and who were the artists who made them? How did they learn their craft?
Dutch New York Between East and West: The World of Margrieta van Varick (Bard Graduate Center)
Special Collections >
The New-York Historical Society Museum collection numbers over 60,000 objects, including works of art and artifacts spanning four centuries. Among its holdings are particularly rich and diverse collections that illuminate the historical and cultural life of New York City and the nation.
Highlights >
The New-York Historical Society Museum and Library houses a treasure trove of materials relating to the founding of our country, the history of art in America, and the history of New York and its people. The Museum houses more than 60,000 works and artifacts, including fine art, decorative art, historical artifacts, and ephemera. Fine art holdings include renowned Hudson River School landscapes; masterpieces of colonial and later portraiture; John James Audubon’s watercolors for The Birds of America; an encyclopedic collection of sculpture; and much more.
