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News from the Moses Myers House

Exciting changes have taken place at the Moses Myers House over the last several months. One of the two historic houses administered by the Chrysler, the Myers House is an integral part of the Museum's offerings. With more than 70% of its original holdings intact, its collection draws an exceptionally accurate picture of life in Norfolk at the turn of the 19th century.

In January, Gary Baker, the Chrysler's curator of glass, accepted the role of curator of decorative arts and historic houses. In addition to overseeing the Chrysler's renowned glass collection, Mr. Baker will also manage the furniture, silver, and ceramics collections as well as the furnishings of the Moses Myers and Willoughby-Baylor Houses.

The Myers House collection continues to grow as a recent gift of Mary Graham Andrews, a direct descendant of Moses and Samuel Myers, has returned two important family portraits to the House-her great, great grandfather Samuel Myers (1790-1829), and his brother Myer Myers (1793-1877). Both portraits may well have been among the "5 family pictures" which were itemized in an 1820 inventory of the Myers House. The gift of these portraits has occasioned a rethinking of the drawing room at the Myers House and a rearrangement of the furnishings that are more in keeping with the 1820 inventory, early 19th-century American practice, and the architectural grandeur of the room.

The drawing room was clearly intended to impress and the five family portraits were an integral part of its fashionable effect. Gilbert Stuart's companion portraits of Moses and Eliza Myers are now paired on the chimney breast of the drawing room and the portraits of their sons--John, Samuel, and Myer--are arrayed around the room.

Mrs. Andrews has also donated a portrait of Julia Grammar Barton Myers (b. 1823), the wife of Moses Myers II. This portrait and painting of Barton Myers recently donated by Mrs. Barton Myers Lloyd will eventually be displayed on the second floor of the Myers House in a room which will devoted to the later history of the Myers family.

In other news, the rear portion of the Moses Myers House Garden has been elegantly restored. Thanks to the generosity of the Garden Club of Virginia, the Garden Club of Norfolk, the Harborfront Garden Club, the Virginia Beach Garden Club, the Jr. Virginia Beach Garden Club, and the Princess Anne Garden Club the project culminated at the end of last year. On May 4, the Friends of Historic Houses will host a reception where the Garden Club of Virginia will officially present the newly restored garden to the Museum and the Myers House. Norfolk's City Council, the Chrysler's Board of Trustees, the Board of the Friends of Historic Houses, and members of the Myers family will be in attendance for this very special occasion.

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For More Information or Images Please Contact the Chrysler at (757) 664-6200 or museum@chrysler.org

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