In 2014, the Preservation Long Island recognized Ms. Mac Griswold for The Manor: Three Centuries at a Slave Plantation on Long Island, a book that brings to life three centuries of history at Sylvester Manor, one of Long Island’s rare surviving 18th century plantations located on Shelter Island.
Preservation Long Island is home to an extraordinary collection of regional artworks and artifacts that document Long Island’s ever changing landscape, its rich history, and the people who have called it home.
Preservation Long Island’s inaugural Huyler C. Held Award for excellence in the publication of Long Island history, architecture, and the decorative arts was presented to Caroline Rob Zaleski for Long Island Modernism: 1930-1980 at our 2013 Winter Benefit.
In 1976, SPLIA curator, Dean Failey, mounted the first exhibition to explore Long Island’s rich decorative arts heritage. More than forty years later, its groundbreaking discoveries continue to inspire and inform. Collecting Long Island follows the continued efforts of collectors to expand our knowledge of Long Island’s complex material past.
#MyLongIslandLandmarks was inspired by an Instagram hashtag. What resulted was a wonderful assemblage of well-known historic “landmarks” as well as Long Island places that, on the surface, may seem ordinary but become meaningful once their stories are known.
This exhibition explored how the art of cartography was used during the 19th and 20th centuries to define the geography of Long Island as a place for investment, industry and commerce, home-building, and ultimately, substantial growth and profit.