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Artist Invites Public To Shape Theodore Roosevelt Exhibit

New York artist, Xiomaro, invites the public to select photographs from his Theodore Roosevelt / Sagamore Hill collection for a March 2013 exhibit at the Oyster Bay Historical Society.

Participants can view and email their selections at www.xiomaro.com/TR.html. Each will receive a free 4” x 6” souvenir print and will be thanked by name on the website. After December 31, one winner will be randomly chosen to win a Special Edition print (8.5” x 11”) of his/her choosing.

Theodore Roosevelt: “How I Love Sagamore Hill”

This solo exhibit – Theodore Roosevelt: “How I Love Sagamore Hill” – features some of the photographs Xiomaro created of the 26th President’s Oyster Bay mansion (also known as the “Summer White House”). The show 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 exhibit comes in time for Sagamore Hill’s 50th anniversary as a National park.

Traditionally, the artist and/or museum curators determine what will get exhibited. “But the art world can come off as an unapproachable place for those who don’t spend all their time engaged with it,” explained Xiomaro. “So I like the idea of interacting with an audience by giving the public a hand in shaping the exhibit.”

The 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. The photographs reveal an intimacy with the household personalities, highlight details overwhelmed by the furnishings and offer unusual perspectives not possible from a guided tour. To Xiomaro’s knowledge, the collection is the first since Samuel Gottscho’s fully-furnished series in 1966 at the Library of Congress.

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.”

The exhibit will be feted with a free opening reception. Xiomaro will also be giving free Gallery Talks and a presentation 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.

Oyster Bay Historical Society
20 Summit Street
Oyster Bay NY 11771
(516) 922-5032
www.oysterbayhistorical.org