To the Editor:

Hanging in the rear parlor of the historic Ten Broeck Mansion is a painting that depicts a scene from seemingly everyday life in early Albany.

However, in pausing to look at the painting more closely, a sense of mystery evolves. Above the front door of an obviously substantial building are the words “L. Cruttenden’s Boarding House.”

This was an actual establishment situated in what is now Academy Park in Albany. Opened in 1813 and run by hotelier and entrepreneur Leverett Cruttenden, it was a gathering place for many of Albany’s elite

Featured in the painting are four gentlemen whose appearance and posture lead the observer to wonder what might be going on. Surprisingly, you are probably familiar with the men surmised to be in the painting — but the circumstances?  

Join with us as Kathryn Kosto, director of the Albany Historical Association, satisfies our curiosity as she guides us through questions such as: why was this painting made, what is going on in the painting, who would want this painting to be created, who painted the image, and what is its significance? 

This intriguing program, revealing so much about the politics and people of early 19th-Century Albany through its extraordinary art, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center in New Salem on 7 The Old New Salem Road. Admission is always free.   

The New Scotland Historical Association Museum will be open for a half hour before the program.

Judy Kimes

Publicist

New Scotland

Historical Association