Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum has curated a new exhibition, Bonds, Steel and Steam: Forging the Vanderbilt Empire, which will open Tuesday, August 18, and run through the end of December. The exhibition is installed in the lower level of the Memorial Wing of the Vanderbilt Mansion.
Exploring an era fashioned by the Gilded Age and shaped by the economic phenomenon of Railway Mania, the exhibition tells the generational story of the Vanderbilts, examining how each of their lives was affected by booming technological investment and grand displays of wealth.
Bonds, Steel, and Steam highlights a display of selected bonds and stocks as well as photographs of key family members, railroads, and trains. Through the individual stories behind each document, the exhibition traces the rapid expansion of American railroads and their rise as the backbone of the Industrial Revolution.
Visitors will learn how the Vanderbilts profited from this growth by acquiring control of existing railroads and how the family kept leadership and influence within their circle. Each of these stories also reveals the extreme financial growth of one of the Gilded Age’s wealthiest families.
“Bonds, Steel, and Steam inaugurates a new temporary exhibition program at the Vanderbilt Museum, designed to bring hidden artifacts out of our archives and into the public eye,” said Dr. Roberta Casagrande-Kim, Director of Curatorial Affairs. “I am delighted to launch this initiative through a stimulating collaboration with Dr. Michael Leroy Oberg, Distinguished Professor of History at SUNY Geneseo, and director of the Gardiner Foundation Semiquincentennial Student Fellowship Project.
“Thanks to Michael’s efforts in introducing SUNY undergraduates to the layered meanings of American independence, Stony Brook student Kira Diaz was able to join us for the summer and bring a unique perspective to our bond collection. We look forward to continuing this partnership, opening our doors to the next generation of scholars, and providing them a platform to reframe Mr. Vanderbilt’s extensive collection through their own viewpoints and expertise.”
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Bonds, Steel and Steam: Forging the Vanderbilt Empire, directed by Roberta Casagrande-Kim and curated by Kira Diaz, was made possible by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Semiquincentennial Summer Fellowship Program.