November 20, 2008

     (Newport, RI)  The 17th annual Newport Symposium, Great Escapes: Villas,Country Places, and Pleasure Pavilions, will examine the exceptionally rich social, architectural, and decorative heritage of buildings designed to both dazzle and relax those who sought an escape from reality over the centuries. The Symposium will be held April 27 to 29, 2009 in one of America's most historic cities, Newport, Rhode Island.

     Presented by The Preservation Society of Newport County with Christie’s, U.S. Trust Company, and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, The Newport Symposium is an international forum for the study and discussion of a diverse range of arts and historical issues.  The audience consists of academics, collectors, museum directors and curators, trustees and major donors, and professional furniture appraisers and art dealers.

     Lectures and workshops over the three day Symposium will examine how the desire to escape from daily cares has created a rich legacy of splendid buildings and interiors.  Ancient Chinese and Japanese scholars retreated to pavilions perched in rocky landscapes, Roman statesmen and merchants to villas, Renaissance princes to hunting lodges, 18^th century grandees to country places and garden follies.  These diverse personalities engaged architects and designers who experimented with new ornamental styles and innovative combinations of architecture, furniture and other treasures to create the sense of fantasy, retreat, and entertainment that were the objective of these buildings and their interiors.

     An international group of lecturers will present a range of topics at the 2009 Symposium, including:

• Paul Miller, Curator, The Preservation Society of Newport County
• Dr. Faminia Gennari Santori, Deputy Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
• Donna Hassler, Director, Chesterwood
• Michael Kathrens, author
• Dr. Ulrich Leben, Art Historian, Paris;
• Evelyn D. Trebilcock, Curator, Olana;  
• Jody Wilkie, Senior Vice President, International Specialist Head of European Ceramics and Glass, Christie's International
• Nancy Berliner, Curator of Chinese Art, Peabody Essex Museum
• Frank L. Chance, Associate Director, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Pennsylvania
• Johan Cederlund, Art Historian, Sweden
• Christopheer Woodward, Director, Museum of Garden History, London
• James Garman, Salve University

     The 2009 Newport Symposium will be headquartered at the Hotel Viking.  Morning lectures and lunches will take place in the Hotel Viking.  Afternoon lectures, tours, receptions and dinners will be held in various historic buildings in Newport. The registration fee is $500 for Preservation Society members, $550 for non-members.  A scholarship fund is available for graduate students and museum professionals.  For the complete schedule of Symposium lectures, workshops and tours, and to register, visit www.NewportMansions.org; e-mail Patricia Toomey at ptoomey@newportmansions.org; or call (401) 847-1000 ext 154.   

     The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island is a non-profit educational organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts.  Its 11 historic properties—seven of them National Historic Landmarks—span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.