Schwamb Mill Saturday: Tour 'Into The Woods'

Arlington MA

25 March, 2022

4:39 PM

Description

Your Arlington Last Updated: 25 March 2022 Written by Lynette Aznavour UPDATED March 19: The Old Schwamb Mill, at 17 Mill Lane, presents two informative programs this month. Learn about an intriguing part of Arlington's industrial past as you go behind the scenes and discover the history of the mill's power systems that have been used over the centuries. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the current exhibit in the gallery, "Into the Woods, From Trees to Frames," which highlights tree species native to New England and Arlington, and traces how lumber is used to create the beautiful oval and circular frames still being produced by the mill's master woodturner, David W. Graf. 1:30 pm, Saturday, March 26, GALLERY TOUR OF THE EXHIBIT "INTO THE WOODS: FROM TREES TO FRAMES" Mill staff members and the curators of this exhibit will guide you through this fascinating exhibit on trees native to New England, and especially Arlington. Exhibits provide information on the natural characteristics of trees, local historic trees, frame shapes and styles over time and the frame-making process that we use at the Old Schwamb Mill. All ages welcome. Admission is free for both programs, with a suggested donation of $5. Mask wearing is optional depending on your personal preference. For more information, call 781-643-0554 or visit us online at www.oldschwambmill.org. Open Tuesday, Saturday The Old Schwamb Mill, called the oldest mill site in the United States, reopened in February after it was closed through January because of then-rising Covid cases. When you visit the mill's gallery, be sure to check out the special exhibit "Into the Woods: From Trees to Frames," tracing the steps involved in creating a frame from the tree to your living room, said Ed Gordon, director of museum programs. This exhibit continues Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you need special accommodations or have questions, please call ahead of your visit at 781-643-0554 so we can make you as comfortable as possible. For more information, call 781-643-0554 on Tuesdays and Saturdays or email the mill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The exhibition is in the Old Schwamb Mill's Gallery, 17 Mill Lane. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5. Basement tours held 2 p.m., Saturday, March, 19: Tour our basements Join us at the Old Schwamb Mill for a special "Behind the Scenes Tour of the OId Schwamb Mill Basements." Schwamb Mill board member and engineer Robert Tanner and the mill's tour staff will explain the 19th-century power systems at the mill. The mill has had four power systems: water wheel, steam engine, water turbine and electric motors. The turbine and turbine governor are still intact, though not functional. While the engine is gone, the boiler remains, and the water turbine and governor can also be viewed up close. Featured will be the 1872 high-pressure boiler in Dry House, the site of an early 1870s steam engine in our c. late 18th-century barn, and the mill building's water turbine installed in 1883. Talk presented: Early 20th-century picture frames The reopened Old Schwamb Mill presents "History of the Carrig-Rohanne Frame Shop," featuring William Adair and Richard Whitney. The virtual talk focuses on the shop's role in the rise of quality picture frames in the early 20th century, wrote Lynette Aznevour, mill publicist. Adair, world-renowned expert in the technique of gold-leafing frames, and Whitney, American author, artist and educator, will discuss the historic frame shop. The Old Schwamb Mill today still produces frames using the same techniques as in the 1800s, and these techniques were only elevated by the work done in the Carrig-Rohane frame-making shop. Tune into the virtual talk on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. Join the Zoom meeting here >> Contact Edward Gordon at 781-643-0554 with any questions. By the late 19th century in America, the art of framing had been reduced to a mass-produced, uninspired style, a news release from the mill says. Marlborough native Hermann Dudley Murphy, through his Carrig-Rohane frame-making shop, did more than anyone else to elevate the level of craftsmanship in current frame production, the release says. The founder of Gold Leaf Studios based in Washington, D.C ., Adair is a frame conservator, frame historian, and master gilder. He began his career in frame conservation at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, where he became fascinated with gilding and the history of frames. Adair writes and lectures on frame history and conservation. He is the founding director for the International Institute for Frame Study, a nonprofit archive, and a founding member of the Society of Gilders. Fine Art Connoisseur has called Whitney one of "the giants of the field" of figurative painting. Whitney's portraits and landscapes hang in more than 800 public and private fine art collections worldwide. He has won over 40 regional and national awards as well as three grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation of Montreal. Whitney was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of New Hampshire in 2015.Whitney is the author of the book Painting the Visual Impression, which summarizes the basic principles of representational painting. First published in 1972, it has been read by thousands of artists worldwide. YourArlington.com has provided news and opinion about Arlington, Mass., since 2006. Publisher Bob Sprague is a former editor at The Boston Globe, Boston Herald and Arlington Advocate. Read more at https://www.yourarlington.com/about.