Current Exhibits at UMMA: “Benjamin West” and “Discovering Eighteenth-Century British America,” September 22, 2012 – January 13, 2013
At the University of Michigan Museum of Art:Benjamin West: General Wolfe and the Art of EmpireSeptember 22, 2012 - January 13, 2013How is it that an American painter came to define the British Empire? Benjamin West's iconic painting The Death of General Wolfe (1776) depicts the death of James Wolfe, the British commander at the 1759 Battle of Quebec, one of Great Britain's most famous military victories, during what in this country is known as the French and Indian War. In conflating a...
Manuscripts Division Reaches 1,000 Finding Aids
The Clements Library Manuscripts Division reached a milestone in its efforts to create finding aids for the division's uncataloged collections. Over 1,000 finding aids are now available on the Library's EAD web site, thanks to generous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The NEH grant (2009-2012) supported project archivists Philip Heslip, Shannon Wait, and Patrick Galligan for the processing...
Lecture by Steve Hamilton, Author of Die a Stranger, October 2, 2012
Lecture by Steve Hamilton, author of Die a StrangerTuesday, October 2, 2012, 4:00 p.m.Great Hall, Clements LibrarySteve Hamilton is a 1983 graduate of the University of Michigan, winner of the Hopwood Award and is delighted to be returning to campus to cover the current state of crime fiction, the process of turning a novel into a movie, and to talk about his recently released book, Die a Stranger.Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Library at (734) 764-2347 or visit...
In the News: AnnArbor.com Review of ‘Murder Most Foul’
John Carlos Cantu of AnnArbor.com reviews our current exhibit in his recent article, "University of Michigan's Clements Library displays bygone representations of 'Murder Most Foul." The exhibit, curated by Clements Library Director J. Kevin Graffagnino, displays a variety of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers and more on the topic of homicide in early America.For more information about current exhibits, see the Clements Library exhibits page. The Murder Most Foul exhibit will be open...
War of 1812 Documentary has Clements Connections
Detroit Public Broadcasting will be the first PBS affiliate to air a just-completed documentary about the War of 1812 in Michigan. The one-half-hour film, produced by Christopher Cook, is titled “Michigan at War: The Struggle for the Old Northwest, 1812-1815” and is a legacy project of the Michigan Commission for the Commemoration of the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Funding was provided by the Michigan Humanities Council, DTE Energy, the Monroe County War of 1812 Bicentennial Committee,...
Kerrytown BookFest, Sunday, September 9, 2012
The 10th annual Kerrytown BookFest will be held at the Kerrytown Farmers' Market this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event celebrates all aspects of books and reading, including authors, booksellers, libraries, publishers, and more. Programs will include panel discussions, workshops, demonstrations, author signings, and children's story time. Barbara DeWolfe and Emi Hastings will be staffing the Clements Library table at Booth 30 (see map). Stop by and see us if you're in the...
In the News: West’s The Death of General Wolfe at UMMA
In anticipation of this fall's exhibit, the University of Michigan Museum of Art's magazine presents Benjamin West's painting, The Death of General Wolfe, as both a featured item and cover image. The painting, which generally hangs in the Clements main room, will be on display at the UMMA from September 22nd until January 13th. Clements Curator of Graphic Materials Clayton Lewis also contributes an essay to the exhibit's catalog.West's painting is known for not only depicting history but for...
Classicists in the Map Division
Mary Pedley’s former Latin students have found new opportunities with cartography. Two of her former students, both classics majors, were seeking summer internships at U of M that would use their talents with ancient languages. Hannah Sorscher studies at the University of Chicago and Henry Upton at Kenyon College. With the encouragement of Brian Dunnigan, Map Curator at the Clements, and Karl Longstreth, map curator in the Clark Library, Mary Pedley proposed to them the collation...
Lecture by J. Kevin Graffagnino: “Murder Most Foul: Homicide in Early America,” September 13, 2012
J. Kevin Graffagnino, Clements Library Director"Murder Most Foul: Homicide in Early America"Thursday, September 13, 20124:00 p.m.To complement the Library’s summer exhibit, Clements Director J. Kevin Graffagnino will present materials from the Clements that illustrate the ways our forebears dealt with murder as a vehicle for moral instruction, a basis for social attitudes, and construction of legal policy. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Library at (734) 764-2347...
Today in History: William Hull Surrenders Detroit
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsThe events of August 16, 1812, brought an ignominious end to an American invasion of Canada and sent shock waves through the United States. On that day Brigadier General William Hull surrendered the fort and town of Detroit to British Major General Isaac Brock. Some 2,400 U.S. regulars and Ohio and Michigan militia were taken prisoner, and the Michigan Territory, of which Detroit was the capital, became occupied territory. Detroit...