New York Historical Society

About: New York Historical Society is a(n) archive organization based out in New York, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topic(s): Astronomer & World War II. The organization has 10 authors who have published 14 publication(s) receiving 63 citation(s).

Gotham unbound: the ecological history of Greater New York

Abstract: Recent literature in urban studies tends to extol the environmental virtue of high density. New Yorker staff writer David Owen, for instance, uses New York as the example par excellence to support ...

Seneca Village and Little Africa: Two African American Communities in Antebellum New York City

Abstract: African Americans in antebellum New York City followed several different residence strategies in the face of ongoing discrimination. Most lived in enclaves, dispersed throughout poorer neighborhoods that were by no means primarily black. One such enclave was Little Africa. Some lived separately in places like Seneca Village, an African American community just outside of town. This study compares the residents of these two neighborhoods and suggests that the members of these groups were quite different from each other in a number of ways. Aggregation of these differences suggests that the groups represent different socioeconomic classes. This finding runs counter to the views of many commentators and scholars (including archaeologists) who talk about the “African American community,” implying that the African American population formed (and forms) a homogeneous whole.

Volatile amines used as corrosion inhibitors in museum humidification systems

Abstract: The importance of controlled environmental conditions to the preservation of cultural artifacts is well established. The most important factor in climate control is thought to be the maintenance of an optimum and stable level of humidity since fluctuations in humidity levels can cause deterioration and damage to artifacts. Maintenance of steady humidity levels is essential in museums situated in most of Europe and North America where uncontrolled interior humidity levels can exceed 80 per cent during humid summer months and drop to 20 per cent, or lower, during dry winter months where central heating is used. ’ The technology to control museum environments is relatively new, beginning less than $0 years ago with the development of central air-conditioning. Although the complexity and expense of specialized climate control systems has increased, the basic function remains the same: to introduce moist air into the environment with humidi~cation equipment during dry periods and to remove moisture from the air with dehumidification equipment during humid periods. At present, most museums maintain a controlled environment through central air-conditioning systems that circulate RH and temperature-controlled air filtered of particulate matter. In some cases gaseous pollutants, i.e. SO,, NO,, and 0, are removed.*

Moon-Struck: Artists Rediscover Nature And Observe

Abstract: We discuss rare early depictions of the Moon by artists who actually observed Earth’s nearest neighbor rather than relying on stylized formulas. The earliest, from the 14th and 15th centuries, reveal that revolutionary advances in both pre-telescopic astronomy and naturalistic painting could go hand-in-hand. This link suggests that when painters observed the world, their definition of world could also include the heavens and the Moon. Many of the artists we discuss — e.g., Pietro Lorenzetti, Giotto, and Jan Van Eyck — actually studied the Moon, incorporating their studies into several works. We also consider the star map on the dome over the altar in the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, Florence (c. 1442), whose likely advisor was Toscanelli. In addition, we examine representations by artists who painted for Popes Julius II and Leo X — Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo, both of whom were influenced by individuals at the papal court, such as the astronomer, painter, and cartographer Johann (Giovanni) Ruysch and Leonardo da Vinci. We also discuss Leonardo’s pretelescopic notes and lunar drawings as they impacted on art and science in Florence, where Galileo would study perspective and chiaroscuro. Galileo’s representations of the Moon (engraved in his Sidereus Nuncius, 1610) are noted, together with those by Harriot and Galileo’s friend, the painter Cigoli. During the 17th century, the Moon’s features were telescopically mapped by astronomers with repercussions in art, e.g., paintings by Donati Creti and Raimondo Manzini as well as Adam Elsheimer. Ending with a consideration of the 19th-century artists/astronomers John Russell and John Brett and early lunar photography, we demonstrate that artistic and scientific visual acuity belonged to the burgeoning empiricism of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries that eventually yielded modern observational astronomy.

Astronomy: Art of the eclipse

Abstract: As the next solar eclipse approaches, Jay M. Pasachoff and Roberta J. M. Olson ponder how artists from the early Renaissance onwards have interpreted the phenomenon.