Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections, 2015.196.871c, Connecticut Historical S…

Interview with Eileen Melvin

IntervieweeInterview with Eileen Melvin American, 1917 - 2015

InterviewerInterviewed by Rebecca Joseph

Date1992 April 30

Mediumreformatted digital file from audio cassette

DimensionsDuration (side 1): 48 Minutes, 11 Seconds
Duration (side 2): 11 Minutes, 7 Seconds
Duration (total runtime): 59 Minutes, 23 Seconds

ClassificationsInformation Artifacts

Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections

DescriptionAudio cassette tape recording of an interview with Eileen Melvin, a descendant of painter Ethan Allen. She was interviewed by Becky Joseph on April 30, 1992 at her home in Southbury, Connecticut. The interview was recorded for the "A Sense of Place" exhibit project. She loaned two pieces to the exhibit, but they were not displayed for unknown reasons.

Object number2015.196.871a-d

CopyrightIn Copyright

NotesSubject Note: "A Sense of Place" was an exhibition curated by the first CCHAP Director, Rebecca Joseph, in 1992 as a follow-up to the first Living Legends exhibit created in 1991. The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Institute for Community Research, home of CCHAP and Connecticut Community Care, Inc. (CCC), was displayed at the offices of CCC in Bristol from May through June 1992 to celebrate Older Americans Month. From the exhibit signage: “A Sense of Place features five members of the 'Grand Generation’ whose work is testimony to the authority with which older Connecticut residents interpret the cumulative experiences of their lifetimes through the heritage arts, those creative activities which link families and communities over time through shared knowledge, experiences, and values. The exhibit title refers to the artists’ status as cultural elder statesmen and women, as well as to their connections to particular places such as the family farm or Long Island Sound. Milton Bond, Sylvia D. Harding, Laura Mae Hudson, Rosina Salamone, and Jennie Stark all developed their virtuosity, technical and expressive skills, later in life. The range of materials, techniques, and subject matter, along with the unique sensibility conveyed in every piece, affirms that each artist speaks with a distinctive voice.” The featured artists were: Sylvia D. Harding of Lyme, needle paintings; Rosina Salamone of Hartford and Sicily, filet crochet; Milton Bond of Stratford, reverse painting on glass; Jennie Stark of Lyme, hooked rugs; and Laura Mae Hudson of Bristol, African American quilts.

Additional materials exist in the CCHAP archive for this project.

Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.

Subject Terms