Fraunces Tavern® Museum debuts the first artistic photographic collection documenting the home of William Floyd, an American revolutionary and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The home, known as The Old Mastic House, is located in Mastic, New York, and is part of the Fire Island National Seashore.
The exhibit, William Floyd’s House of Revolution opens on July 4 at Fraunces Tavern® Museum, 54 Pearl Street, New York City, and remains on view until December 1, 2013. The photographs were commissioned by the National Park Service and present interior views and perspectives that visitors to the sprawling 25 room house are not likely to see. The photographs also include rare close-ups of Floyd’s signature and personal items such as his snuff box and traveling “medicine” chest that actually carried liquor.
Together with fellow rebels like George Washington, Floyd served in the first Continental Congress in 1774. His great grandson was Frederick Tallmadge, the second president of the Sons of the Revolution which own and operate Fraunces Tavern to this day, and grandson of Washington’s famous spymaster Benjamin Tallmadge. By the late 1770s, the British occupied Long Island and Floyd escaped to Connecticut. Floyd returned to a ransacked house, which he restored to receive visitors such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and other notable guests.
Remarkably, Old Mastic House was continuously occupied by Floyd’s descendants up until 1976 when it was donated to the National Park Service. So the photographs also show how both the house and the new nation grew, expanded and evolved together through history. Like America’s motto – e pluribus unum – the house stands as one unified historical structure comprised of many evolving styles in architecture, furnishings, design and technology.
The collection was created by Xiomáro (pronounced SEE-oh-MAH-ro), a New York-based nationally exhibited artist who uses photography to interpret historical sites within the National Park Service where iconic American figures lived and worked to pursue their vision. His other commissions from the National Park Service include Theodore Roosevelt – “How I Love Sagamore Hill,” which will be exhibited at Harvard University next year. “My goal is that viewers of these photographs will feel compelled to visit the parks where they, too, can examine these leaders and explore the ideas that shaped our culture. Experiencing our heritage and open spaces also ensures their preservation and conservation,” explains the artist. His collections can be seen and purchased at his website: www.xiomaro.com. A free souvenir print can be requested at the site and an eBook from the exhibit will be available soon.
More information at: http://frauncestavernmuseum.org