Monday, March 30 Mary M. Lesneski Lecture & Tea at the Concord Museum on

Dean Lahikainen to speak at the Annual Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture at the Concord Museum

Monday, March 30, 2015, 1:30PM - 3:30PM at the Concord Museum

The Concord Museum is pleased to announce that Dean Lahikainen, Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Art, Peabody Essex Museum, will present the 2015 Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture on Monday, March 30, 2015 at 1:30 pm. The lecture will be:

Most Agreeable: Salem’s Eighteenth-Century Country Estates and Gardens

Many wealthy merchants in and near Salem, Mass. emulated the British aristocracy and developed country estates and gardens. While some contained grand houses, garden follies, statuary, and greenhouses, others designed less elaborate farms to provide the produce, milk, and meat for the family’s table. These rural retreats also served as the center of summer social life. Gentlemen farmers took great interest in experimental crops, horticulture, and animal breeding. Wives and daughters delighted in bringing groups of friends from town to enjoy the bounty of the season. Using contemporary paintings, needle works, and diary entries, this lecture will explore the artistic and practical aspects of the country life of prosperous families during the eighteenth century.

As is tradition, an elegant Afternoon Tea organized by the Concord Museum’s Guild of Volunteers follows the lecture. Lecture begins at 1:30; Non-members $30; Members $25. By advance reservation, online or by calling (978) 369-9763, ext. 216.

About the Speaker: Dean Lahikainen is the Carolyn and Peter Lynch Curator of American Decorative Art at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.

About the Event: The annual Mary M. Lesneski Lecture, began 36 years ago in memory of a dedicated Concord Museum volunteer. It has brought nationally renowned speakers on a variety of topics to the Museum each March. Past speakers have included Andrea Wulf, Dominique Browning, John Burrows and Erica Hirschler.

About the Concord Museum: The Concord Museum is where all of Concord’s remarkable past is brought to life through an inspiring collection of historical, literary and decorative arts treasures. Renowned for the 1775 Revere lantern and Henry Thoreau’s Walden desk, the Concord Museum is home to a nationally significant collection of American decorative arts, including clocks, furniture and silver. Founded in 1886, the Museum is a gateway to historic Concord for visitors from around the world and a vital cultural resource for the town and the region. Visit www.concordmuseum.org

MUSEUM ADMISSION: General admission to the Museum is $10 for adults, $8 Seniors (62 & over), $8 Students with valid id, $5 Youth 6-18. Members and children under 6 are free.