Past Exhibitions
Striking Beauty: New Jersey Tall Case Clocks, 1730–1830
April 21, 2023–February 18, 2024
The first exhibition of its kind, Striking Beauty features over 50 tall case clocks, representing almost as many different clockmakers. Explore the five-gallery exhibition to see the most comprehensive look ever given to the ingenious work of New Jersey clockmakers.
James West Noise Test in the Anechoic Chamber at Murray Hill, New Jersey, 1960s. Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center.
Ma Bell: The Mother of Invention in New Jersey
March 13, 2022–March 5, 2023
Bell Telephone Laboratories, American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) and Western Electric employed tens of thousands of New Jersey residents through its 100-year tenure in the state. From highflying linemen risking their safety atop telephone poles, to women trained to connect calls across the country, to the world’s leading engineers answering logistical questions of communication, New Jerseyans from all walks of life supported the ground-breaking technology of the company.
Grouse, 1885. Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh (1856–1915), oil on canvas. Collection of the Van Nostrand Family.
In Nature’s Realm: The Art of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh
February 19, 2021–January 9, 2022
Morven Museum & Garden is proud to present the first exhibition examining the work of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh (1856–1915). Born in New Brunswick, the great-great-grandson of Reverend Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh (1736–1790), the first president of Queens College (Rutgers University), Hardenbergh was a self-taught artist and ornithologist. Hardenbergh’s work provides a special glimpse into the Garden State on the brink of rapid development.
Jersey Homesteads rendering, c. 1936. Louis I. Kahn (1901–1974). Pastel and pencil on paper, mounted on board. Louis I. Kahn Collection, University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
DREAMING OF UTOPIA: ROOSEVELT, NEW JERSEY
November 15, 2019–January 24, 2021
The first of its kind, this show examines the history of Roosevelt, from its early days as an antidote to the Great Depression to a twenty-first century arts community.
Image credit: Playing baseball at Madison, New Jersey, c. 1910. Underwood & Underwood (copyright September 30, 1911). Stereograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
Jersey Baseball: From the Cradle to the Major Leagues, 1855–1915
June 7, 2019 — October 27, 2019
Perhaps more than any other American sport, the history and origins of baseball are shrouded in myth and mystery. About 1855, baseball began a growth spurt, especially in New Jersey. During that period some notable baseball firsts, including the founding of the first African-American club, the first interscholastic game and some of the earliest documented women’s games all took place in New Jersey. The state’s role in the early development of the organized game was of such importance that New Jersey can be justly described as a cradle of the National Pastime.
Masters of Illusion: The Legacy of John F. Peto
November 15, 2018 — May 12, 2019
Morven partnered with the John F. Peto Studio Museum, to present a new look at trompe l’oeil art in New Jersey. Trompe l’oeil, pronounced “tromp loi,” is a French phrase meaning “to deceive the eye,” which is used to describe paintings that create the illusion of a three dimensional scene.
A Gentleman’s Pursuit: The Commodore’s Greenhouse
February 16, 2018 — October 21, 2018
Morven is partnering with the archaeologists at Hunter Research to help bring the Commodore’s greenhouse to life. Morven will explore the history of the Commodore’s greenhouse - presenting archaeological artifacts, contemporary greenhouse designs, and a study of popular plants that the Commodore may have grown. This exhibit will give Morven a wonderful opportunity to focus on its unique garden history, placing it with the context of American nineteenth century greenhouse architecture and practice.
Newark and the Culture of Art: 1900–1960
June 16, 2017 — January 28, 2018
Exploring the unique combination of art and industry that made Newark, New Jersey a magnet for modern artists in the early twentieth century, Morven’s exhibition celebrates the culture of creativity that flourished alongside John Cotton Dana’s Newark Museum.
Bruce Springsteen: A Photographic Journey
November 18, 2016 — May 21, 2017
Traveling from the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, this exhibition features over forty photographs of the rock legend and video interviews with the show’s five photographers: Danny Clinch, Ed Gallucci, Eric Meola, Barry Schneier, Pamela Springsteen, and Frank Stefanko.
Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh: Couple of an Age
November 13, 2015 — October 23, 2016
Spanning the twentieth century, the exhibition is the first to explore the Lindberghs as a couple, examining Charles and Anne as imperfect American icons.
Of the Best Materials and Good Workmanship: 19th Century New Jersey Chairmaking
April 23 — October 18, 2015
This exhibition explored the craft of chairmaking in New Jersey from the 1790s to the end of the nineteenth century. This was an era when chairmakers worked actively in virtually every corner of the state, from large cities and towns to small crossroads communities.
Hail Specimen of Female Art! New Jersey Schoolgirl Needlework, 1726-1860
October 3, 2014 — March 29, 2015
This landmark exhibition is the first to focus on the important contribution of New Jersey in the creation of schoolgirl needlework in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Micah Williams: Portrait Artist
April 11 — September 14, 2014
This exhibition presents an unmatched look at New Jersey’s itinerant portrait painter Micah Williams (1782–1837) and tells a story about the new America of the 19th century. This exhibition has been organized by Monmouth County Historical Association.
The Age of Sail: A New Jersey Collection
November 15, 2013 — March 23, 2014
Morven Museum & Garden is proud to present the first public appearance of this unmatched collection of New Jersey maritime artifacts and art assembled by New Jersey collector Richard Updike. This exhibit, featuring over 100 objects, explores the history of American shipbuilding, sail-making, naval warfare, shipwrecks and rescue.
Coastal Impressions: Painters of the Jersey Shore, 1880-1940
April 26 — October 27, 2013
Through the works of Edward Boulton, Wyatt Eaton, Albert Reinhart, Alice Doughton, Julius Golz, Charles Freeman, Ida and Clara Stroud, John F. Peto, Mildred Miller, Thomas Anshutz, Hugh Campbell, and Carrie Sanborn (to name a few), this exhibition illustrates the history of artists who lived, worked and drew inspiration from Jersey’s resplendent shores.
The Pine Barrens: A Legacy of Preservation | Photographs by Richard Speedy
January 25 — April 14, 2013
Featuring the photographs of Princeton native Richard Speedy, this exhibition captures the unique beauty of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings and Prints of New Jersey, 1761–1898 | From the Collection of Joseph J. Felcone
September 28 — January 13, 2013
Morven Museum & Garden is proud to present the first public appearance of this unmatched collection of New Jersey graphic history assembled by New Jersey collector and bibliographer Joseph Felcone. This exhibit, featuring 120 original works executed between 1761 and 1898, offers a visual iconography of the state beginning with a pre-Revolutionary landscape and ending with a birdseye view of a growing New Jersey city on the eve of the twentieth century.
The Garden at Night | Photographs by Linda Rutenberg
June 15 — September 16, 2012
A theatrical and sensuous photographic journey through the mysterious realm of the nocturnal garden. Photographer Linda Rutenberg has traveled the world to capture spectacular gardens that spring to life while most of us sleep.
Puzzles of the Brain: An Artist’s Journey through Amnesia
January 26, 2012 — June 3, 2012
Morven Museum & Garden hosted Puzzles of the Brain: An Artist’s Journey through Amnesia, an exhibition on loan from The Walters Museum of Art in Baltimore, MD.
The Walters partnered with the Cognitive Science Department of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Science at Johns Hopkins University to present a focus show exploring the impact of severe brain damage on the life and creativity of an artist.
The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit™
July 1, 2011 — January 8, 2012
This exhibition featured more than one hundred flags from The Pierce Collection of American Parade Flags, tracing the history of our national emblem from its humble beginnings in 1777 into the twentieth century.
The Ripple Effect
September 1 — October 30, 2011
Morven Museum & Garden presented The Ripple Effect, a water-themed outdoor juried sculpture exhibition, in September and October of 2011. The exhibition was inspired by a collaborative initiative of the Garden State Gardens Consortium entitled “Liquid Assets: Using and Conserving Water in Our Gardens.”
Ribbon of Life | The Delaware and Raritan Canal
March 2 — June 19, 2011
Over 180 years ago, Commodore Robert Field Stockton, owner and resident of Morven, obtained a charter from the New Jersey State Legislature for the construction of the Delaware & Raritan Canal. The Ribbon of Life: The Delaware & Raritan Canal, on loan from the D&R Greenway Land Trust, graced the elegant rooms once inhabited by the Commodore. Featuring a collection of over fifty images, this exhibit explored the canal as a vibrant site of leisure and industry throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Morven Through the Centuries
November 20, 2010 — February 20, 2011
A home for over 200 years, Morven’s residents have shaped its history from pre-revolutionary days well into the 20th century. This exhibit explores the diverse objects that make up Morven’s permanent collection while interpreting every generation of this historic home’s inhabitants. From photographs, to furniture, to archaeology and film, Morven Through the Centuries, provides a peek into Morven’s fascinating past.
The Kennedys Portrait of a Family: Photographs by Richard Avedon
August 7 — October 31, 2010
This exhibit from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History provides a behind the scenes look at the legendary first family as seen through the lens of acclaimed fashion photographer Richard Avedon. The exhibit presents twenty-seven photographs taken in January 1961 of the President-elect John F. Kennedy and his young family. The black and white photographs offered a snapshot of the new first family on the brink of Kennedy’s inauguration.
Cretaceous Life of New Jersey, 1877, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1807–1894), Princeton University Art Museum
Rocks and Dinos!
November 1, 2009 — July 2010
This exhibit displays rocks, fossils, and paintings by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins that shows what the state of New Jersey was like during the time of dinosaurs. Several of the animals and fossils on display had a direct connection to New Jersey.
Martin Luther King Jr. with Coretta Scott King, Yolanda Denise King, 1956, Dan Weiner (1919–1959), National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African-American Portraits
July 4—September 27, 2009
The National Portrait Gallery and the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture created this exhibition of five galleries of historic photographs to highlight African-American individuals whose passion, determination, and talent played an influential role in shaping notions of race and status over the last 150 years.
Boudinot Collection at Morven. Photograph, 2004. Bruce White.
The Boudinot Collection of Princeton University Art Museum
2014 — July 2018
This exhibit displays late 18th and early 19th century portraits, furniture, and decorative art that belonged to Elias Boudinot IV, brother of Annis Boudinot Stockton.
Picturing Princeton 1783 exhibition. Photograph, 2009. Bruce M. White.
Picturing Princeton 1783: The Nation’s Capital
July 1, 2008 — June 2009
The “Picturing Princeton: 1783” exhibit is in honor of the 225th anniversary of Princeton acting as the nation’s capital when it became the temporary seat of Congress. This exhibit includes images and rare documents, including letters written by George Washington.
Ben Again!
December 5, 2007 — March 2008
This exhibit displays a large collection of Benjamin Franklin pop culture memorabilia on loan from Roy E. Goodman, showing Franklin's continuing influence today.
The Large House in Miniature
December 6, 2006 — September, 2008
This exhibit displays a custom dollhouse of the Large House of Flemington, New Jersey. This dollhouse was created by Jo Talbott.
Wilson 150
April 18, 2007 — November 18, 2007
Organized by the Woodrow Wilson House, a National Trust Historic Site in Washington D.C., this traveling exhibit displays Wilson’s political achievements as well as his less familiar private life through political memorabilia, personal effects, and photographic images. The exhibit also shows Wilson’s connection to New Jersey and Morven.
A Place to Take Root: A History of Flowerpots in North America
April 5 — May 28, 2006
This exhibition is the first that is devoted to the evolution of the common flower pot from Egypt up to the present day. During this exhibit, over one hundred pots are on display, with an emphasis on flowering of American designs in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as contemporary designs.
Snedeker and the mural, Virginia Snedeker (1909–2000), May, 1942.
Capturing the Spirit: Virginia Snedeker and the American Scene
April 5 2006 — November 26, 2006
The exhibition uncovers the artwork of Stockton descendant Virginia Snedeker (1909–2000). A regular contributor of interior and cover art for The New Yorker during the 1930s through the 1950s, Snedeker also completed a post office murals for the Federal Works Agency. The exhibit is drawn from a collection of over 400 paintings, drawings, photographs, and memorabilia.
Gifts to Morven
December 2005; thereafter the paintings, sculpture, and furniture remains
Complementing the “Festival of Trees” event at Morven, this exhibit displays a selection of paintings, sculpture, and furniture from Morven’s permanent collection. All of the objects directly relate to Morven’s history.
Proprietors and Adventurers: A Rediscovery of Colonial New Jersey
September — October 30, 2005
In this exhibit, the New Jersey State Archives offers visitors a first-ever view of reproductions of rare documentary treasures dating from the beginnings of New Jersey as a British colony. The exhibit includes eleven rare colonial maps and manuscripts.
Rookwood Garden Tiles at Greenwood Gardens
October 16, 2004 — October 2005
This exhibit, in conjunction with the public opening of Rookwood Garden Tiles at Greenwood Gardens, displays items from the garden.
Equestrian Portrait of the Stockton Family, c. 1865, Henry Collins Bishop
Selections from the New Jersey State Museum
September 2004
During this exhibit, furniture and paintings made in New Jersey between 1700–1830 are on view at Morven while the State Museum is closed for renovation.