A Maps Lecture by Margaret Pritchard

Thomas Conder, Map of the Interior Travels Through America
London, c. 1789

Margaret Pritchard made the journey from Williamsburg, VA to deliver an incredibly insightful presentation and lecture for The American Decorative Arts Forum at San Francisco’s De Young Museum. The Arader Galleries San Francisco team was in attendance and hosted Margaret for a private reception in the San Francisco Gallery. Margaret received a bachelor’s degree from Hollins College. After working with Winterthur’s needlework collection for a year, she received a fellowship at Colonial Williamsburg to assist with the refurnishing of the Governor’s Palace.Margaret subsequently became the curator of Colonial Williamsburg’s collections of prints, maps and wallpaper. Her responsibilities include acquisition of new objects for the collections and research in the medium of paper. She selects appropriate prints, maps, and wallpaper to hang on the walls of buildings in the historic district, such as the Brush-Everard House, the George Wythe House and the recently recreated Richard Charlton Coffeehouse. Margaret Prichard’s publications include William Byrd II and His Lost History: Engravings of the Americaswith Virginia Sites (1993); Empire’s Nature: Mark Catesby’s New World Vision with Amy Meyers (1998); andDegrees of Latitude: Mapping Colonial America with Henry Taliaferro (2002). She combined her study of geography with living nature for “A Protracted View: The Relationship between Mapmakers and Naturalists in Recording the Land,” her contribution to Curious in our Way: The Culture of Nature in Philadelphia, 1740-1840 (2009).

Margaret’s lecture focused on maps in the 17th and 18th centuries and their importance for documenting new discoveries and promoting settlement in the New World. These documents — created by empirical observation and scientific equipment — authoritatively documented claims of boundaries between colonies and empires. Land titles and rents, and trade — aided by nautical atlases, hung in the balance. As the struggle between France and Britain for control of North America intensified in the 18th century, the need for reliable maps for military use also increased.

Maps also embodied intellectual attainment and social aspiration. Prominently displayed maps, charts, atlases and globes became status symbols for the enlightened, genteel 18th century gentleman whose library might well have included works on commerce, navigation, geography, mathematics, physics, natural history and travel. Maps were ordinarily displayed in the hall (not today’s passageway but the name for the primary room for welcoming guests to the home) or dining room, literally and figuratively demonstrating the host’s expanded world view to guests.

Margaret explained the role of maps as powerful visual symbols during the 17th and 18th centuries. They were useful devices for mapmakers and colonial expansionists to convey a host of attitudes and values. She dissected the meaning behind many of the elements in the maps’ cartouches, adding engaging insight into these stunning antique maps. Examples of many of the maps discussed can be found in the Arader Galleries collection. See our section on Maps on the home page of our website (www.aradersf.com).

Exquisite Japanese Watercolors of a Rooster, Hen and Chicks

These two exquisitely detailed Japanese watercolors of a rooster, hen and chicks were most likely created in the 19th century.

Japanese long-tailed fowl have been breed by the Japanese aristocracy for over 350 years. Depictions of these Japanese roosters began to appear in Japanese art in the 1630s, near the time when Japan closed its ports to outside trade. It is suggested that these roosters were brought to Japan by Dutch traders from Java, which was a Dutch colony, as depictions of long-tailed roosters appear in Dutch art of the same era. Breeding these exotic fowl is a hobby for many today.

The symbol of the rooster has some significance in Japanese culture. The use of animal symbol as part of the zodiac, which originated in China, was adopted in Japan in 604. The Asian zodiac is divided into 12 years, each named after an animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar. People that are born in the same animal year are said to share similar traits. Those born during the year of the rooster are said to be profound thinkers and devoted to their work.

These wonderful watercolors are currently on view at the 435 Jackson St., San Francisco location of Arader Galleries. Please call 415.788.5115 for any additional questions you may have.

In the Garden

French School
An Allegorical Garden
Gouache on vellum with contemporary frame
Framed size: 23 1/4” x 23 1/8”
France, Seventeenth century

Johann Christoph Volckamer (1644-1720)
Plate 20 from Hesperidum Norimbergensium
First Latin Edition: Nuremberg, 1713
Hand-colored copperplate engraving; 14” x 9”

François Duvillers (1807-1881)
Plate 57 - Plan du Parc Sericicole, Agricole, Gruitier, Potager ... des Proprietes de Mr. Eugene Chaband
From Les Parcs et Jardins
Paris: 1871-78
Hand-colored engraving; 14 ¼" x 21 ¼"

Arader Galleries is pleased to present you our latest catalog, In the Garden, featuring our fine collection of art relating to gardens, including sweeping views of garden estates, garden design diagrams, garden ornament and botanicals. Gardens became very important in Western Europe beginning in the 17th century. The medieval period had seen gardens turn inward with cloisters and private, walled environments. During the Renaissance, a revival in garden design, first reflected in Italian gardens, saw the outdoor environment as more an extension of the home. This Italian style of formal, or Baroque, gardens would dominate European garden design through the early 18th century, with many countries adopting their own styles. The French style of the Baroque garden, or Garden à la française was known for its elaborate, geometric designs, as seen in gardens at Versailles.

The characteristics of a typical Baroque garden include a grandness of scale, rich ornamentation and sweeping vistas. The decoration of the Baroque garden reflected the culture of the time. There was a wide interest in botanicals and natural history, due to the 17th century world explorations, which affected the appearance of gardens. Exotic plants, such as citrus trees, animals, shells and stones imported from all around the world were incorporated into garden design. Fountains, hydraulics and painted perspectives reflected the scientific and technological innovations of the era. Additionally, there was a wide interest in antiquities, and thus classical sculpture became a main element of garden design.

If you have an interest in receiving the In the Garden catalog, please call Arader Galleries at 415.788.5115.

Impressionism Masterpieces

The Magpie
Claude Monet
1869
Oil on canvas

Arader Galleries had the privilege to visit the De Young Museum in San Francisco and view the wonderful exhibition “Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay”. The collection includes masterpieces by influential artists including Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Gustave Calliebotte and more.

Impressionism was an art movement stemming from Paris, France in the 19^th century and is characterized by painting with visible brushstrokes, opening the composition, moving away from fixed lines and creating a natural lightness on the canvas. Throughout the exhibition, viewers are treated to an array of interpretations of the style of impressionism and receive a broad education in the differences among these revolutionary artists.

Highlights of the show include Edouard Manet’s The Fife Player (1866), The Dancing Lesson (1873-76) by Edgar Degas and Saint-Lazare Station (1877) by Calude Monet, each a staple in the teachings of art history. Each of these almost 100 brilliant masterpieces are sure to be enjoyed by all, as the exhibition is open through September 6, 2010, and is followed by a post-Impressionism exhibition at the De Young Museum from September 21, 2010 - January 18, 2011.

San Francisco Decorator Showcase

The 2010 San Francisco Decorator Showcase is being held in a magnificent 1929 French Normandy mansion at 3450 Washington Street (between Walnut and Laurel) in Presidio Heights .

Open from May 1st to 31st, the proceeds from visitors and the silent auction benefit the financial aid program at San Francisco University High School.

More than twenty San Francisco designers were chosen to decorate the rooms of this fabulous house, each with their distinctive flair and style. From the rich horologists room to the playful au pair room, and every floor in between, the designers embellished this home to perfection.

French Decorative Styles: 17-18th Centuries

Model of Marie Antoinette's Room in the Neoclassical style
Photo courtesy of iald.org

Within the vast halls and exhibitions of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, are the Wrightsman Galleries featuring models of the rooms and some original decorative pieces of European rulers and aristocrats. A guided tour takes visitors through these halls and three separate rooms fashioned in the styles of Kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI, which reflect the changing styles of French decoration through the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

King Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, ruled in France from 1643-1715, the longest reign of any monarch in Europe. Louis chose a royal hunting lodge at Versailles to become his grand palace and home to the French government and noblemen. Over the following decades expanded it into the largest palace and grounds in the world. When decorating his private rooms in Versailles, King Louis XIV favored the Baroque style, popular throughout Europe. The room, as modeled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is rich with tapestries, lush dark red coloring and intricate wood and metal craftsmanship adorning the furniture. King Louis XIV’s decorations are imbued with images and metaphors of himself, his family and “sun” emblems. A particular piece of furniture, his personal writing table, is a permanent piece in the MET collection and on display in the room. The desk, made by Dutch-born cabinetmaker Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt, illustrates how materials such as tortoise shell were used to create a rich and multi-tonal veneer with brass inlay in intricate and symbolic patterns referring to King Louis XIV.

Following Louis XIV was his great-grandson Louis XV. The styles throughout his reign of France and at the Palace of Versailles shifted into an even more ornamental, sculptural style that retained a delicate and playful elegance, called Rococo. The term Rococo is a combination of the French word rocaille, meaning stone, and coquilles, meaning shell and alludes to the elaborate ornamentation on the walls of salons and rooms throughout France. Statuettes and stucco decorations on the walls of the salon featured in the MET combine symmetry with ornate decoration. Movement within the rooms was important to Louis XV and the furniture was lighter for easy rearrangements, more curvaceous and rounded and inviting to be used.

King Louis XVI, who reigned from 1774 until 1792, when he was tried and executed for treason, was a young king growing up in Versailles. Louis XVI and his young Austrian bride, Marie Antoinette, favored a simpler style called Neoclassical. Throughout the 18^th century, straight legged furniture replaced the curves of the Louis XV style and the ornate wall designs and fixtures were transformed into straightforward designs. Symmetry and simplicity were the models used for decoration and color palette was lighter and fresh. A room in the MET describes this style and is modeled after Marie Antoinette’s private quarters. Containing her original writing desk and a chest sent from her mother, visitors see the dramatic change from the highly decorative and fluid Rococo style to the symmetrical, simple yet Neoclassical style.

"Wild About Parrots"

Maya
Photo courtesy of
Drew Altizer Photography

Arader Galleries, San Francisco, had the pleasure of hosting the San Francisco Zoological Society’s Benefactor party in our galleries on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010. The lively event was co-hosted by Barnaby and Martha Conrad and MacGregor and Mary Read.

The event comes days before the highly anticipated annual ZooFest, the San Francisco Zoological Society’s most celebrated fundraiser, held on April 30th, 2010 at the zoo. This year, the ZooFest's theme is “Wild About Parrots” and focuses on South American parrots whose habitats and lives are continually destroyed through illegal trafficking and deforestation.

A portion of the money raised by ZooFest will go towards the restoration of the San Francisco Zoo’s South American Tropical Forest Aviary and parrot habitat. A moving speech delivered by Executive Director and President of the San Francisco Zoo, Tanya Peterson, highlighted the importance of preserving the lives and habitats of these beautiful birds.

Along with the many benefactors of the San Francisco Zoo, Mark Bittner, author of The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill attended the party and signed copies of his book. Live owls, a chatty parrot and a peregrine falcon, presented by handlers from San Francisco Zoo, also greeted attendees and served as a reminder of the great impact the Zoological Society has on these animals.

The event at Arader Galleries provided the perfect platform for the celebration of ZooFest and the many outstanding accomplishments made by the supporters of the San Francisco Zoo for the care and conservation of animals.