Polk's America

The BCDA, a nationally-celebrated project changing the face of decorative arts and material culture scholarship, recently expanded the archive into Tennessee. Founders Dr. Tiffany Momon and Victoria Hensley share their research and the reasons why identifying and studying black craftspeople is so important.

The Shakers' American utopian experiment succeeded in creating an egalitarian culture contrary to societal norms in Polk's America. In 1807 the Shakers established a village in frontier KY that eventually would be home to over 300 followers. Curator and Educator Sally Givens introduces the people and material culture of the South Union Shaker Village in Auburn, KY. 

When U.S. artist George Peter Alexander Healy (1913-1894) painted the portrait of James Polk for the first time in 1846, the sitter was the President of the United States and residing at the White House. By the time that Healy painted Polk again in 1858, the President had already died. Alba Campo Rosillo discusses the portraits' differences in terms of format and purpose, and elaborates on the economic and political issues to which the paintings subtly refer.

In the early 1800s, South Carolinian businesses used enslaved labor to create a booming stoneware pottery industry in the Edgefield District. The artistry and durability of this pottery created an enduring legacy reflective of the complex social issues of Polk’s America. Katherine Hughes brings considerable research and insight into times and techniques of these enslaved craftsmen.

Hughes conducted research as the Peggy N. Gerry Research Scholar at the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is currently serving as Graduate Research Assistant at MTSU's Center for historic Preservation.

Consultant Brenda Hornsby Heindl shares her research behind the creation of a c. 1820 kitchen garden at the President James K. Polk Home & Museum. The garden provides a tangible connection to the people who lived and labored on the property. Special guests include chef Paul Jensen, brewmaster Zac Fox, and curator Candice Candeto. Musical performances by The Grateful Bluegrass Band.

Mr. Kinslow's research focuses on the life of Elias Polk, who was enslaved by the Polk family. While enslaved, Elias' labor furthered James Polk's political and professional careers. After emancipation Elias entered politics as a Southern Democrat, the party of his enslaver. Featuring Scott Warren, site Director at the President James K. Polk State Historic Site in North Carolina.

Lithography firm Currier & Ives profoundly impacted 19th century American popular culture through their "cheap and popular prints." Join Tennessee State Museum curator Annabeth Hayes as she explores the history of the firm and the ways in which it shaped American perspectives and prejudices. Featuring commentary from master printer and author Phil Sanders.

As the publication of his masterpiece The Birds of America wound down, an exhausted but restless John James Audubon embarked on his final project to catalogue the mammals of North America. The result was The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, which comprised 150 folio color prints of American mammals, the first of its kind published in the United States. Katie McKinney, the Margaret Beck Pritchard Assistant Curator of Maps and Prints at Colonial Williamsburg, examines the creation of this under-appreciated work and its place in the study of American natural history.

Born within a year of James K. Polk, Robert Stewart's life and career parallels the 11th President's in many ways. Stewart's business in antebellum Natchez, Mississippi, has much to teach us about craft, labor, business, and society in Polk's America, as well as the decorative arts of the too-often-forgotten Gulf South.

Musicologist and author Dr. Douglas Shadle traces the origins of American symphonic music through the experiences of Anthony Philip Heinrich, William Henry Fry, and George Frederick Bristow. These composers were contemporaries of many of Europe's classical music masters, yet they were shut out of symphonic music halls in the their own country. Join us as we explore what happened to change the trajectory of American symphonic history. Featuring Dr. William Gibbons

Excerpts from sound recordings The Ornithological Combat of Kings/Night in the Tropics and The Wind Demon, from New World Records (p) & © 1978 Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc. Used by permission.
www.newworldrecords.org/products/anthony-philip-heinrich-louis-moreau-gottschalk