1/7

slug: Lecture Series to Be Held at Staatsburgh State Historic Site

TG #614197

STAATSBURG, N.Y. — The Friends of Mills Mansion will host a champagne lecture series, “Antiquing with Mrs Mills: Country House Treasures of the Gilded Age,” on Sundays from 2 pm to 4 pm in January and February at Staatsburgh State Historic Site, formerly Mills Mansion.

The country house of Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills, a Beaux-Arts mansion on the Hudson River, was enlarged and renovated by the firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1895. Decorated by Stanford White and Allard et Fils of Paris, the house is furnished in Eighteenth Century French styles.

Helen Constantino Fioratti will speak on January 16. Fioratti, proprietor of L’Anti-quaire & the Connoisseur Inc in New York City, will talk about antiques favored by the wealthy during the gilded age.

On January 23, Deborah Lee Trupin will discuss the challenges in conserving antique textiles, using Staatsburgh as a case study. Trupin has been the textile conservator for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Bureau of Historic Sites for nearly 20 years.

Winding up the series on February 6, David Bayne will speak about various approaches to conserving Eighteenth Century French furniture, with illustrations from the Millses’ collection. Bayne is the furniture conservator for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Bureau of Historic Sites.

Admission is $12 per session or $30 for all three; a champagne reception will follow each lecture. For reservations, call Susan Walkerat 845-889-8851 or www.staatsburgh.org.