And You’ll Also Be Entered For A Chance To Win A Special Edition Print
Here’s how it works:
1. Visit my website (www.xiomaro.com/TR.html) and pick your three favorite photos.
2. Email me your selections by clicking the “Contact” link on the upper right of my website.
3. For each selection, make sure to list my website’s page number and the photo’s ID number (it’s on the lower left corner): e.g., “Page 1, photo 4 / 45.”
4. Include your postal address so that I can send you a free 4” x 6” souvenir print like the image below. You will be thanked by name on my website – a link will be announced as the exhibit date approaches.
You will also be entered for a chance to win a Special Edition print (8.5” x 11”) of your choosing from the collection at the above link. A winner will be randomly chosen and announced on New Year’s Eve.
By the way, after emailing me, you’re welcome to return to this blog and post your selections as a comment – it might be fun for everyone to see what others are choosing.
Theodore Roosevelt: “How I Love Sagamore Hill”
This solo exhibit features some of the photographs I created of Sagamore Hill, which is President Theodore Roosevelt’s Long Island mansion (also known as the “Summer White House”). The exhibit is presented by the Oyster Bay Historical Society in partnership with Sagamore Hill National Historic Site and will take place at the Historical Society’s new Angela Koenig Research Center from March 8, 2013 to June 2, 2013.
The photographic collection was created as part of a three-year, $6.2 million dollar structural rehabilitation of the house, which is presently closed to the public. As a result, the images document the interiors in a historically rare condition: Sagamore Hill appears much as it did in 1887 when the Roosevelts moved in. To my knowledge, this is the first significant body of interior photographs since those created in 1966 by Samuel Gottscho, which are now part of the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection at the Library of Congress (though his photographs show the house fully furnished).
Despite the house being substantially vacant, the photographs reveal that TR’s spirit remains permanently in residence. It is no surprise that on the day before he passed away, TR wistfully commented to his wife Edith “I wonder if you will ever know how I love Sagamore Hill.”
You’re Invited To The Opening Reception: March 8, 2013
The Opening Reception is on Friday, March 8, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. It’s open to the public and free of charge. Please attend and see if your selections made their way to the walls. It would be great to meet you all.
But there is more to it than just that. Sagamore Hill will be celebrating its 50th anniversary as a National Park historic site. So I will be giving free Gallery Talks during the course of the exhibit, which will be recorded for future broadcast. I’m also a Guest Speaker as part of the John Gable Lecture series, which is presented by the Friends of Sagamore Hill, a chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
The exhibit will eventually travel to Harvard College for a year-long exhibit starting in 2014. Coincidentally, that will be the same year that Ken Burns will be releasing a new PBS documentary titled “The Roosevelts” featuring TR and his presidential cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
So I’m Grateful For Your Input
Traditionally, as the artist, I would solely determine what will get exhibited especially since it is not possible to display all 144 photographs in the collection. Museum curators are traditionally involved in that process as well.
But the art world can come off as an unapproachable place for those who don’t spend all their time engaged with it. So I like the idea of bridging that gap to the extent it’s there and giving the public a hand in shaping the exhibit. I’m sure it has something to do with having spent many years as a performing musician and seminar speaker – I love interacting with an audience. It’s an ethos that has its detractors though.
I had an art teacher proudly sniff, “I’m an elitist. I don’t believe art is for everybody.” She was a good teacher. But that was one lesson I refused to learn from her.
© 2012 Xiomáro
Xio's Xcribble 
Wow what a great idea! There’s so much good work here it’s hard to choose. I really liked the full panoramic of the library because it gives you an idea of the airiness and breadth of the house, while showing the details like the hardwood floors and furniture (110 40/45). I would group that with any of the photos from the North Room for the same reason. I’d also go with the typewriter in the boys room because it gives you a sense of the life and values inside the house and because I’m a fan of old typewriters (211 40/62). Lastly, I’d go with the trunk from the trunk room with Roosevelt’s name on it. It gives you an idea of his stately travels. I like the pictures that are reminscent of life and lifestyle. However, you really have so many beautiful pictures that emphasize the gorgeous details of the house, like the doorknobs and locks, tiles and wallpaper. Finally, you should highlight all of the closeups that demonstrate your creative skill as a photographer using the abstracts from the drawing room, front door privacy glass and the fireplace closup. Thanks for opening up the gallery for suggestions! Buena suerte!