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The Henry Allen Moe Prize for Catalogs of Distinction in the Arts

Entries for each year's prize must have been published the previous year. Entries must be submitted in four copies, accompanied by a letter of transmittal stating intent to enter the contest, and received on or before June 1 of each year. Only catalogues treating collections located or exhibited in New York State qualify.

Selection will be by a committee of scholars and museum administrators. A successful entry should add new information to what is known about the subject, and may completely document an important exhibition.

Address entries to:

The Henry Allen Moe Prize Committee
New York State Historical Association
PO Box 800
Cooperstown, New York 13326

PRIOR PRIZEWINNERS

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Dixon Ryan Fox Manuscript Prize

Manuscripts may deal with any aspect of New York State history. Biographies of individuals whose careers illuminate aspects of the history of the state are eligible, as are manuscripts dealing with such cultural matters as literature and the arts, provided that in such cases the methodology is historical. Works of fiction and works of article length are not eligible.

The deadline is January 20 of each year.  There are no application forms. To enter the competition, send two unbound copies and a covering letter to:

Editor
New York History
New York State Historical Association
PO Box 800, Lake Road
Cooperstown, New York 13326.
Phone: 607.547.1491
E-mail: publications@nysha.org

PRIOR PRIZEWINNERS

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Schwan's First Delivery Truck Comes to Cooperstown for The Farmers' Museum's Ice Cream Exhibition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COOPERSTOWN, NY, JUNE 15, 2007—The Farmers’ Museum is pleased to display first delivery truck from one of the largest producers and distributors of frozen foods and premium ice cream, Schwan’s Food Company, in the museum’s major new exhibition, Ice Cream: Our Cool Obsession. Hailing from Marshall, Minnesota, Schwan’s first delivery truck, circa 1953, will only be on view at the museum through next weekend.

Schwan’s home delivery and global food service began with a rural ice cream delivery in 1953. Marvin Schwan and his parents were operating a small dairy in Marshall, Minnesota, and struggling due to a government milk price freeze. On March 18, 1952, Marvin loaded 14 gallons of his family’s ice cream into a 1946 Dodge panel van, which he had purchased for $100, and sold the ice cream in the Montevideo, Minnesota, area. This was the beginning of the now famous Schwan’s route delivery system.

In 1953, the family purchased this refrigerated three-quarters of a ton Ford truck. Like the panel van, it was painted creamy yellow; a color that was later trademarked and called Inca GoldTM. The delivery trucks that you see today are the same color.

Today, The Schwan Food Company is one of the largest producers and distributors of frozen pizza, egg rolls, pies, desserts and premium ice cream. The company’s corporate office building is on the site of the original dairy in Marshall, Minnesota.

Ice Cream: Our Cool Obsession explores the rich history of ice cream, from its ancient origins through the present day. The exhibition comprises historical artifacts, including Ben and Jerry’s original freezer; contemporary and historical photography; a children’s interactive area; and a retro ice cream parlor, The Stone Barn Dairy Bar, where visitors can enjoy their favorite ice cream novelties. The exhibit will be on view through October 31.

ABOUT THE FARMERS’ MUSEUM:
As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late 19th-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

The Farmers’ Museum is located on 5775 State Hwy. 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown, NY. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and members are admitted free. From April 1 through May 14 and October 9 through October 31, admission prices are reduced to $9 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, and $4 for children age 7 to 12. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include the Fenimore Art Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org.

For more information or images, please contact:
Christine Liggio/Public Relations Office
New York State Historical Association
Fenimore Art Museum/The Farmers’ Museum
Phone: (607) 547-1472/E-mail: cliggio@nysha.org

To request additional press material or to sign up for our media contact list, please complete and submit this online form.

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Visions of the American West on View for 2007 Exhibition Season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COOPERSTOWN, NY—The Fenimore Art Museum will showcase three exhibitions featuring seminal works of the American West in 2007, including Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty; Myth & Reality: The Art of the Great Plains; and Treasures from the Frederic Remington Art Museum. Each of these exhibitions presents significant work within various themes of the American West, including dramatic landscape photographs by Ansel Adams, challenging historic representations of the Plains Indians, and influential Western works by Frederic Remington. Together these exhibitions will present a multidimensional view of the American West, exploring multiple themes from a variety of eras, perspectives and artistic practices.

The Fenimore’s 2007 exhibitions will also provide a dynamic complement to the Museum’s exceptional holdings of American art. Located on the shores of legendary Otsego Lake, the Fenimore’s natural rural setting both enhances and enlivens the experience of exploring our nation’s rich artistic heritage. The rolling hills and idyllic farmlands that have changed little over the centuries were the inspiration behind and setting within which many of the pieces in the collections were created. The Fenimore’s location creates a seamless connection between its collections and the natural outdoor setting, and encourages visitors to reflect on how the country’s past has informed, and continues to inform, our society, values, and artistic expression.

Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth's Beauty
April 1, 2007 – May 13, 2007

Featuring the work of one of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th century in the exhibition Ansel Adams: The Man Who Captured the Earth’s Beauty, the Fenimore Art Museum will showcase 25 black and white, richly detailed photographs capturing the beauty of the American West. Organized by the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, this exhibition includes such masterpieces as Monolith, The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California; Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico; and Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, California. Through Adam’s technical virtuosity and sensitive eye, these dramatic images remain profound reminders of his reverence for the beauty of the earth and the healing force of nature in our lives.

As a young mountaineer, Ansel Adams discovered the natural beauty of the Western landscape. He is perhaps among the last of the Romantic artists who view the great spaces of wilderness as a metaphor for freedom and heroic aspirations. Adams has sketched the outlines of a new pictorial understanding of the wild landscape, based on nature’s intimate details, unnoted cases, and ephemeral gestures.

The Mint Museum’s collection of Ansel Adams’ photographs was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Peter G. Scotese. The photographs in this exhibition were published by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust in 1980 and 1981 from vintage negatives.

Myth & Reality: The Art of the Great Plains
April 1, 2007 – December 30, 2007

Organized by the Fenimore Art Museum, this exhibition dispels the myths of the “Plains Indians” and the American West contrived by artists, travelers, explorers, and Hollywood filmmakers. Featuring works from recognized Plains Indian artists showcasing a representation of their own culture and history, Myth & Reality: The Art of the Great Plains will explore a richer and more nuanced representation of Plains Indians life.

Traveling Wild West shows such as those conceived by Buffalo Bill Cody formed the basis for the notion of the “Plains Indian” that has survived to the present day. The Great Plains invoke images of warriors on horseback wearing feather headdresses, tipis, and buffalo hunts. However, most Plains Indians lived a semi-nomadic farming life on the wooded fringes of the Missouri River. With the introduction of horses by the Spanish during the seventeenth century, the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked a period of unprecedented change in the lives of the people on the Plains. Horses were regarded as powerful spirit beings and appeared in many Plains Indian arts, including carving, painting, and drawing. Women incorporated extensive and elaborate beadwork and quillwork into clothing and accessories. This exhibition will feature much of this artwork, and will unravel many myths surrounding the people and history of the Great Plains.

Treasures from the Frederic Remington Art Museum
May 26, 2007 – September 4, 2007

The Fenimore Art Museum’s showcase of Treasures from the Frederic Remington Art Museum features 22 original paintings and drawings and four original sculptures by famed Western landscape painter Frederic Remington. These works represent the exemplary skill and breadth of Remington’s work, and exemplify the exceptional holdings of American art at the Fenimore Art Museum.

Magazine and book illustrations made Remington a household name by the end of the nineteenth century, with his work appearing in such publications as Harper’s Weekly and Monthly, Boy’s Life and Cosmopolitan. In Remington’s forty-eight years, he produced over 3,000 signed paintings and drawings, 22 subjects in bronze, and articles and novels that comprised eight books. He made his name as an artist and illustrator of western subjects, and viewers are often surprised to learn that he was a New Yorker—he was born and buried in Canton, New York, and produced most of his work in his studio in New Rochelle.

Among the highlights of the exhibition is an 1885 watercolor, Sunday Morning Toilet on the Ranch, a fine example of Remington’s early devotion to the theme of cowboy ritual and camaraderie. The exhibition also features examples of Remington’s illustrations, including the 1888 oil on board One of the Boys, one of many works he produced for an important early commission to illustrate six stories of Theodore Roosevelt’s western exploits in The Century. This exhibition was organized by The Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, NY.

About Fenimore Art Museum
One of the nation’s premier art institutions, the Fenimore Art Museum is home to an exceptionally rich collection of American folk art and American Indian art as well as important holdings in American decorative arts, photography, and twentieth-century art. Founded in 1945 in Cooperstown, New York, the museum is part of the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA), founded in 1899. The museum’s renowned Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, housed in the American Indian Wing, is a masterpiece collection of more than 800 art objects, representing a broad scope of North American cultures. The collections of folk and American art include seminal works by Grandma Moses, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Cole, William Sidney Mount, Benjamin West, and John H. I. Browere. The museum offers a range of interactive educational programming for children, families, and adults, including lectures and workshops for museum visitors and distance learning instruction for classrooms nationwide. The museum further explores and examines our cultural history by organizing and hosting nationally touring art and history exhibitions, including Grandma Moses: Grandmother to the Nation; Treasures from Olana: The Landscapes of Frederic Edwin Church; A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster, Jr.; Winslow Homer: Masterworks from the Adirondacks; and Ralph Fasanella’s America.

The Fenimore Art Museum is located on 5798 State Hwy. 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown. The museum’s Fenimore Café, overlooking beautiful Otsego Lake, features wonderful views and a tranquil setting amid the terraced gardens. The Museum Shop offers fine jewelry, art reproductions, and a wide selection of publications on folk art, history, and Native American art. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and NYSHA members are admitted free. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include The Farmers’ Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. The museum is open from April 1 through December 30. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org.

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To request additional press material or to sign up for our media contact list, please complete and submit this online form.

For more information or images, please contact:
Christine Liggio, Public Relations Office
New York State Historical Association
Fenimore Art Museum/The Farmers’ Museum
Phone: (607) 547-1472/E-mail: cliggio@nysha.org

D. Stephen Elliot,

D. Stephen Elliott has been the President of The Farmers’ Museum and the New York State Historical Association since 2005. Before joining the organizations, he served as Executive Director since 2000 at the Council for America’s First Freedom, in Richmond, Virginia, a non-profit whose educational