As it turns out, Cincinnati was one of the largest manufacturers of boots and shoes in the United States for much of the early 1900s. Factories in Boston, Lynn, and Haverhill, Massachusetts were the main centers of production, but they could not compete with Cincinnati.

Curious what my favorite shoes are in our upcoming exhibition Walk This Way: Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection of Historic Shoes? Here’s your chance to find out! Plus, you can learn a bit about what makes each pair special. 

We reflect on an illustrated book commemorating the “Golden Wedding”—meaning the fiftieth wedding anniversary—of former Taft historic house residents Nicholas Longworth and Susan Howell Connor Longworth. The couple had lived in the Pike Street mansion for nearly thirty years by the time this merry event occurred. 

Three years ago, I was asked to put together an exhibition of Cincinnati art to celebrate the bicentennial of the Taft Museum of Art’s historic house. One of the first steps, of course, would be locating works of art that were beautiful, compelling, and rarely exhibited. One of the questions I often hear is, “How did you go about choosing the works for the exhibition?” Here I hope to shed some light on that process.

What do the Taft Museum of Art and Rookwood Pottery have in common? More than you think. The answer to this question involves the granddaughter of Cincinnati’s first commercial winemaker, a collection of Chinese porcelain, and the “Soldier King” and “Red Cross Queen.” Intrigued?

As I begin my thoughts about Chinese tea and its rich history, I start with a quote from the English playwright Arthur Pinero (1855–1934): “While there is tea, there is hope.” We can find hope in any number of places. In 1937 Lin Yutang wrote in his book The Importance of Living, “There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life.” I encourage you to try and find a moment of peace and hope in perhaps an unexpected place: a cup of tea.

Did you know that 2020 marks the bicentennial of the Taft Museum of Art's historic house? Around 1820, a simple four-sided home was built for Martin Baum (1765–1831) and his wife, Ann Sommerville Wallace Baum (1782–1864), forming the core of what would become one of Cincinnati’s most historic buildings. With that, it seems only fitting that we explore the predominant style of the early 1800s: Neoclassicism—an artistic approach that embraced the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome. 

The Fall 2020 Highlights

In 2014, the Taft Museum of Art accepted a  remarkable gift of 89 pieces of Chinese painted  enamel copperware. The late Reverend Compton  Allyn left these rare treasures to the Museum in his  will. Made by painting colorful diluted glass paste  onto copper forms, the enamels in Reverend Allyn’s collection illuminate a story of cultural exchange between East and West.

Painted by Duncanson between 1850 and 1852 as a commission for Nicholas Longworth, then the home’s owner, the spectacular murals don’t reveal what was happening in Cincinnati during the turbulent time of their creation. They also don’t tell us much personally about Duncanson: a man whose grandfather was born enslaved in Virginia, who mostly taught himself to paint, and who became the first internationally recognized Black artist.