An 18th Century Arts and
Architecture Museum in Annapolis, Maryland
The
gentleman planter Matthias Hammond began work in 1774 with renowned architect
William Buckland on plans for a new, elegant townhouse in the most fashionable
area of Annapolis.
History Buckland
immigrated to the colonies in 1755 as an indentured servant to George Mason of
Virginia who commissioned him to work on his home, a seemingly modest site
called Gunston Hall. The young architect is credited with introducing a variety
of designs into mainstream architecture in the colonies. After several
successful commissions in Virginia, Buckland ventured to Annapolis, where his
hand can be seen at the Chase-Lloyd House. The crowning jewel of Buckland’s
career, however, was the house he designed for Matthias Hammond. This house was
the only one of his many commissions that Buckland designed and executed in its
entirety. He died before the house was finished.
Ironically,
the man for whom Buckland erected this masterpiece never lived at the house. In
the waning years of the 18th century, the house was rented by many a well-known
Annapolitan, including Judge Jeremiah Townley Chase, a one-time mayor of the
city. In the 19th century, the elegant mansion was home to the Pinkney and then
the Loockerman families. In an uncanny twist of fate, William Buckland’s
great-grandson William Harwood married into the Loockerman family, thereby
bringing the Buckland clan into the house. William Harwood’s progeny lived at
the Hammond-Harwood House until 1924.
An Anglo-Palladian Mansion with the
best woodcarving and plasterwork in America
Through the Civil War and World
War I, the house remained an enduring fixture in Maryland’s capital city. After
the death of Hester Ann Harwood in the 1924, the house seemed destined to
become a memory. Fighting off bulldozers, St. John’s College purchased the site
in 1926 and used it for their decorative arts program, the first of its kind in
the country. The economic woes of the 1930s, however, forced the College to
search for new owners. Finally, in 1940, the Hammond-Harwood House was
purchased by the newly formed Hammond-Harwood House Association. Since then,
the site has served thousands of visitors and has become a landmark of colonial
architecture.
Architecture the
Hammond-Harwood House is a five-part Anglo-Palladian (derived from 16th
Italian architect Andrea Palladio) mansion that features some of the best
woodcarving and plasterwork in America. It maintains a kind of symmetry and
system of proportions that are rarely seen in buildings of this period. While
most 18th century structures were fashioned by amateurs and artisans, the
Hammond-Harwood house was clearly the work of a trained professional architect.
Decorative
Arts the museum proudly showcases the finest collection of colonial
furniture in Maryland. With authentic works from Philadelphia, New York,
Massachusetts, England, Ireland, and China, the collection represents a broad
spectrum of 18th century artistic endeavors. Crafts from Annapolis
are also featured in the collection, with special emphasis on cabinetmaker John
Shaw whose shop is still standing on State Circle. Today, Shaw pieces can be
viewed in almost every room in the house. They include a slant-front bookcase
in the Study, an elegant dining room sideboard (an original Harwood family piece),
a tall case clock now in the Dining Room, a gaming table covered with a green
baize table top, and a host of profoundly beautiful chairs that clearly mark
this craftsman as a master of his trade. Visitors can also get a glimpse of the
everyday lives of colonial men and women as they are treated to authentic items
like an 18th century watercolor set, a period medicine chest, a
surveyor’s set of drafting tools, a delicate sewing kit, a pair of colonial
spectacles, a child’s furniture set, and a vast assortment of colonial kitchen
artifacts.
Fine
Arts of special interest are the many images by portrait painter
Charles Wilson Peale whose sensitive touch, delicate brush strokes, and knack
for capturing the essence of the sitter made him one of the 18th century’s
premier painters. Not only does the museum retain Peale paintings that are
original to the house, but the Hammond-Harwood House also exhibits one of the
most beloved of Peale’s portraits—a painting of six-year-old Ann Proctor. Time
stands still for visitors as they examine, first hand, the doll which he
painted in Ann Proctor’s lap over 220 years ago.
Educational Programs designed to teach children the differences
between modern and colonial life
Then and Now Program designed for the littlest, most curious, it can be easily adapted for 5,
6, and 7-year old students. The program is divided into three 20-minute
sessions:
Session
I: Tour of the Herb Garden
with show and tell of fresh, fragrant medicinal herbs
Session
II: Tour of the Colonial Kitchen
with emphasis on differences between modern and ancient
Session
III: Students dress in colonial
clothing, make hornbooks, write with quill pens, or paint.
Colonial Adventure Tour for 3rd - 5th graders, students step back in time
and learn about the lives of the men, women, and children living in Maryland
during the 1770s. The tour is divided into two 45-minute sessions. In one
session, students tour the colonial mansion and learn the basics about colonial
life and history through an open dialogue with our expert guides. In part two,
students touch or make several of the things they have seen in the house.
Through the use of reproduction artifacts and imaginative, interactive games,
students get a direct sense of what it would have been like to be an artist, a
furniture maker, a gentry man and lady, a servant, and more. They can write
with quill pens, make a sachet, play with colonial toys, paint a miniature
portrait, play with colonial cards, build a replica brick wall, experiment with
furniture.
To Be Colonial targets grades 6 - 8. The program focuses on the lives of four
individuals associated with the Hammond-Harwood House between 1774 and 1820.
Students are introduced to two women and two men, all with exceptionally
different lives: Matthias Hammond, a colonial gentleman; William Buckland, a
Pre-Revolutionary War architect; Frances Loockerman, the daughter of a mayor of
Annapolis; and Rachel, a slave. Students learn about these individuals via discussions
of politics, slavery, housewifery, food, art and clothing:
Session
I: Colonial house tour with focus
on the daily lives of four characters
Session
II: Examination of primary sources
documents including wills and inventories, of reproduction artifacts and
clothing. Emphasis on learning through real documents and 18th-century objects.
Reading and Writing History designed to give high school students a hands-on lesson about
Colonial American history. The program is divided up into three mini-sessions
each with its own goals: a colonial house tour, an introduction to history
resources, and a session of hands-on group study. The program covers topics
which include common and indentured laborers, slave life, the life of
craftsmen, gentry activities and leisure time, decorative arts, and
architecture.
Professional
Enrichment Tours that focus on suburban sprawl, declining
water quality, diminishing water supplies, vanishing agricultural land, loss of
historic character, wildlife habitat degradation, and threatened biological
resources. Learn to:
Protect
and conserve land and water, natural, cultural and scenic resources;
Create
and strengthen local government efforts that support resource conservation;
Improve
site planning and design to support resource conservation;
Plan
and conserve of natural and cultural resources;
Enhance
awareness and knowledge of conservation approaches.
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