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News Release

Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
901 South Bond Street, Suite 540
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Phone: 443-287-9960 | Fax: 443-287-9920

March 3, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Heather Egan Stalfort
(410) 516-0341 ext. 17
hestalfort@jhu.edu


Evergreen Announces "House Beautiful" Lecture Series

The inaugural The House Beautiful Lecture Series at The Johns Hopkins University's Evergreen Museum & Library focuses on 20th-century tastemakers whose work promoted the idea that life could be improved through artful design of everyday objects.

The series presents notable experts and authors in the field of modern design. A book signing and special reception with the speaker follows each lecture.

The lectures will be held in the Bakst Theatre at Evergreen Museum & Library, 4545 N. Charles Street, Baltimore. Tickets are $20 each lecture; $15 for Evergreen members and students with valid ID. Series tickets are available for $48; $33 for Evergreen members and students with valid ID.

Advance pre-paid reservations are recommended as seating is limited. Tickets are available online through MissionTix at www.missiontix.com, by phone at 410-516-0341, or in person at the museum (handling charges apply for phone and online orders).

"Ultramodern Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector" by Liz O'Brien
Wednesday, March 26 - 6:30 p.m.

Art expert and dealer Liz O'Brien is a leading force in rediscovering the work of many mid-century designers and is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the field. She became interested in the work of American architect Samuel Marx more than 10 years ago when she began exhibiting his work at her Fifth Avenue gallery in New York. Although Marx was born at the end of the 19th century, he had the eye of a modernist — as an architect, furniture designer, connoisseur and collector. "Rooms designed by Samuel A. Marx have so satisfying a feeling of oneness that it's frequently hard to say where the architecture ends and the furniture begins," said House Beautiful in 1948. O'Brien will discuss many of Marx's undiscovered projects and his range of furniture designs.

"Mastering Tradition: The Residential Architecture of James Russell Pope" by James B. Garrison
Wednesday, April 23 - 6:30 p.m.

John Russell Pope designed several hundred buildings and monuments, including more than 100 houses, from a series of jewel-like mausoleums to vast estates with integrated ensembles of living, work, and leisure buildings. Architect James B. Garrison takes as his starting point several of Pope's key residential projects in Baltimore and Washington, such as the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, to show how these relate to his better-known public works. Garrison has more than 20 years of experience in architecture and historic preservation, including research and restoration work on many National Historic Landmark structures. In addition to his architectural practice, he writes and lectures extensively on the history and architecture of southeastern Pennsylvania, where he lives on the Main Line.

"Fit for a King: The Furniture and Design of Maison Jansen" by James Archer Abbott
Wednesday, May 28 - 6:30 p.m.

Maison Jansen was the most celebrated decorating firm in the world throughout the 20th century, with a client list that included the duke and duchess of Windsor, the shah and shahbanou of Iran, and John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. The firm designed custom furnishings for interiors that celebrated its signature aesthetic — a heady combination of Bourbon historicism combined with Hollywood- style glamour. Evergreen curator and independent author James Archer Abbott will talk about his recently published books Jansen and Jansen Furniture, and present highlights of some of the firm's most alluring commissions. Abbott has previously held the positions of curator of the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, and curator of decorative arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

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About Evergreen Museum & Library
Housed in a former Gilded Age mansion surrounded by Italian- style gardens, Evergreen Museum & Library is at once an intimate collection of international fine and decorative arts, rare books and manuscripts assembled by two generations of Baltimore's B&O Garrett family and a vibrant, inspirational venue for contemporary artists. The museum contains more than 50,000 of the Garretts' belongings — including post- Impressionist paintings and drawings, Asian decorative arts, and the John Work Garrett Library — and one of the largest private collections of Louis Comfort Tiffany glass. For information, visit www.museums.jhu.edu
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