Curator's Choice
Like history? Love museums? From ancient relics to modern marvels, each episode of this show features a new museum and a sampling of some amazing artifacts housed there. What makes Curator's Choice truly special is our exclusive interviews with the unsung heroes of museums—the curators themselves. These guardians of history will share insights, anecdotes, and the often untold stories that breathe life into the artifacts they protect.
Through this podcast, our mission is to dispel the notion of museums as static, old, and dull spaces. Instead, we aim to reveal them as vibrant repositories brimming with mystery and wonder, one artifact at a time.
New episodes are released every two weeks, and you can tune in anywhere you get your podcasts!
Curator's Choice
Episode 32: Historic Sotterley
Starting off the new year, we meet at Historic Sotterley and speak with Katherine Humphries, who is the Education Coordinator, and Jeanne Pirtle, who is the Director of Educational Programming and Partnerships. Sotterley is a historic plantation, with parts of the house dating back to 1703. It has survived 3 major wars, hurricanes, lightning strikes, and numerous renovations, and today is an interpretive site comprised of 94 acres of land, over 20 authentic historical structures, and a sustainable farm that donates food to local pantries. For this episode, we focus on the Chinese Chippendale Banister, which was constructed ~1780, and the portrait of Sarah Satterlee, whose artist was a mystery until a curator from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery visited and thought the style looked familiar!
Episode Links:
- Official Historic Sotterley webpage: https://www.sotterley.org/
- Met Museum’s artifact “The Gentleman and Cabinet-maker's Director: Being a Large Collection of Designs of Household Furniture in the Gothic, Chinese and Modern Taste 1754”: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/591840
- Seth Cheney’s painting of James Jackosn, circa 1842, at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery: https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.98.126?destination=edan-search/default_search%3Fedan_local%3D1%26edan_q%3Dseth%252Bcheney%26edan_fq%255B0%255D%3Donline_visual_material%253Atrue
Sotterleys Recognitions and Awards
2012 Designated a Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Marker’s Project Site
2017 Maryland Sustainable Growth Award for Preservation & Conservation
2018 Maryland Preservation Award for Slave Cabin Exhibit dedicated to Agnes Kane Callum
2019 Designated a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Slave Route Project
2020 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Public Programming for Common Ground
Curator's Choice - A podcast for history nerds and museum lovers