ATLANTA, GA - Harry Norman, REALTORS® is pleased to sponsor the exciting new exhibit Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps: Contemporary Botanical Artists Explore the Bartrams’ Legacy, presented by the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center. The exhibit will be on display in the Kenan Research Center, from March 19 - June 17, 2014, Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sunday, Noon – 5:00 pm; free to the public.
Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps, features world-class, contemporary botanical artwork depicting plants discovered and introduced by two generations of the Bartram family. The plant portraits reflect John and William Bartram’s passionate observation and discovery of nature, which has influenced generations of artists and explorers throughout the world.
A companion exhibition featuring holdings from the Cherokee Garden Library and Atlanta History Center collections will include historic books, such as William Bartram’s Travels (1791) and William Stork’s A Description of East-Florida with a Journal Kept by John Bartram of Philadelphia, Botanist to His Majesty for the Floridas (1769); rare maps of the Southeast; and artifacts of Native American culture.
An outdoor living component in the Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden of the Atlanta History Center brings the exhibition artwork to life, featuring the very plants that are depicted and many more the Bartrams studied and documented. Arguably the most important of the hundreds of plants they found on their travels was the Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha, which is now believed to be extinct in the wild. The State Champion Franklin tree is in the Quarry Garden and will be a central feature to this outdoor exhibition.
To mark the opening of the Bartram’s exhibit, the Atlanta History Center presents Joel Fry, curator of Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia, on March 19, 2014 at 7:00 pm as part of the Ashley Wright McIntyre Lecture Series at the Cherokee Garden Library. Joel Fry will present a survey of William Bartram’s breathtaking illustrations and examine the scope and influences of his career as a seminal American natural history illustrator. Fry, who is widely published, is a leading scholar on both John and William Bartram and their botanic and collecting careers in the eighteenth century. Fry’s lecture will be followed by a reception and an opportunity to explore the exhibition.
Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps was organized by the American Society of Botanical Artists at the New York Botanical Garden in collaboration with Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. The exhibit engages a wide range of audiences, including those interested in botanical art, science, history, and nature. The experience will foster a deeper understanding of our shared horticultural heritage and heighten our respect for the natural world in the twenty-first century.
Additional programming and group tours are available. Individual tickets for the Joel Fry lecture are $25.00. Please call 404-814-4150 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Bartram.
About Harry Norman, REALTORS®
Founded in 1930, Harry Norman, REALTORS ® is one of Atlanta’s first and most successful residential real estate firm with 12 sales offices, various franchise and satellite offices and more than 1,000 real estate professionals. Harry Norman, REALTORS ® is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. Harry Norman, REALTORS ® is the exclusive Atlanta affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate and achieves additional international exposure through membership in such exclusive real estate networks as Luxury Portfolio International, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®. More information is available at www.harrynorman.com.
About The Cherokee Garden Library
Founded by the Cherokee Garden Club of Atlanta, the Cherokee Garden Library, one of the special subject libraries of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, opened in 1975 to serve as an educational resource center for those interested in gardening, landscape design, garden history, horticulture, floral design, botanical art, cultural landscapes, natural landscapes, and plant ecology. Over 28,000 books, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, and landscape drawings are included in the Cherokee Garden Library collection. Serving over 6,000 researchers annually, these rare and valuable resources tell the story of American horticulture and botanical history in the Southeastern United States and areas of influence throughout America, Europe, and Asia. While the collection is a focal point, the Garden Library also attracts a community of people who enjoy the year-round calendar of lectures, exhibitions, tours, and collaborations with partner agencies. For information about the Cherokee Garden Library, call 404-814-4046 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CherokeeGardenLibrary.
About The Atlanta History Center
Founded in 1926, the Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive destination featuring the Atlanta History Center Museum, one of the Southeast’s largest history museums; two historic houses, the 1928 Swan House and the 1860s Smith Family Farm; the Centennial Olympic Games Museum; twenty-two acres of Historic Gardens; the Kenan Research Center; the Grand Overlook event space; Chick-Fil-A at the Coca-Cola Café; and a museum shop.
In addition, the History Center operates the Margaret Mitchell House. Located in Midtown Atlanta, the two-acre campus features tours of the apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind;an exhibition highlighting the life of Margaret Mitchell; a Gone with the Wind movie exhibition; and a museum shop.
For information on Atlanta History Center offerings, hours of operation, and admission prices, call 404-814-4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.