Arts, Dining & Entertainment

PHS presents “Pawlet 100 Years Ago” with famed photographer

Courtesy of PHS

Eileen Travell, an internationally recognized photographer, will be the speaker at the Pawlett Historical Society’s spring program, “Pawlet 100 Years Ago.”

Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m. — PAWLET — The Pawlett Historical Society’s spring program, “Pawlet 100 Years Ago” will be held on Thursday, May 26 at 7 p.m. at Pawlet Town Hall. Internationally recognized photographer Eileen Travell will present a slideshow and talk about town resident Nellie Bushee, her glass plates documenting life in Pawlet, and the development of photography during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Many are familiar with Bushee’s name and a few of her images because of Susanne Rappaport’s book “Messages from a Small Town,” published in 2005. Bushee photographed her friends, family, neighbors, the interiors of their homes, gatherings on porches, and picnics on the grass. The details of their private lives—furnishings, wallpaper, rugs, curtains, decorative arts and clothing—are revealed through her images.

Some 250 glass plate negatives taken by Bushee between 1895 and 1910, and donated to the PHS in 1984, are considered to be a gem of the society’s photography collection. These glass plates were cleaned and organized by Neil Rappaport’s students at Bennington College, among whom was upcoming program speaker Eileen Travell.

Travell is a senior photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she has worked for 27 years. Her work has appeared in New York Times, Sunday London Times,  and Washington Post Magazine. Her photographs are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.

For more info, contact 802 645 9529 or voorburg00@comcast.net.

Mountain Times Newsletter

Sign up below to receive the weekly newsletter, which also includes top trending stories and what all the locals are talking about!