New exhibition: “How I love Sagamore Hill”
Jan 31st, 2014 by houghtonmodern
Now on display in the Theodore Roosevelt Gallery, located in the lower level of Lamont Library in Harvard Yard, are selections from the photographic series Theodore Roosevelt – “How I Love Sagamore Hill” by New York artist Xiomáro. Xiomáro was commissioned by the National Park service to photograph the interiors of the president’s “Summer White House” at what is now Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.
Xiomáro’s photographs show the house in a historically rare condition: the 23-room mansion, usually full of furnishings and mementos, was nearly vacant as part of a three-year, $7.2 million structural rehabilitation. Xiomáro’s photographs do not solely focus on TR, but also draw attention to his wife, children and servants to give a sense of what life was like in the household. “Even though the rooms are nearly vacant, the photographs reveal the imposing character of America’s 26th president and the more intimate domestic nature of his family,” explained the artist. “Some of these nuances are overwhelmed by a room’s furnishings or inaccessible to visitors behind velvet rope barriers.”
Xiomáro is a nationally exhibited artist whose work has been covered by The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Fine Art Connoisseur and other media outlets. He is known for using photography to draw attention to historical sites where American figures lived and worked to pursue their vision. Other projects with the National Park Service include Old Mastic House at Fire Island National Seashore (home of William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence) and the farmhouse and art studios at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut (home of both J. Alden Weir, a founder of American impressionist painting, and Mahonri Young, a sculptor of the Ashcan School).
The 26 photographs featured in the exhibition will remain on view from January 26 to December 31, 2014. A limited edition photo eBook, based on the series, can be downloaded for free at www.xiomaro.com. Lamont Library hours can be found here. For more information, contact the curator.