Warm Room: Photographs from Historic Greenhouses (2019) is the culmination of a twenty year project that began at the Planting Fields Arboretum on Long Island where the author Peter Moriarty lived in 1996. Significant American sites were added as the series of gelatin-silver prints evolved. Site notes were made for each of the locations. In 2010 a major grant permitted the addition of British and European works to contrast with the American photographs. Research at the Mertz library at the New York Botanical Garden set the itinerary for a two month excursion. There are 58 photographs in the book, which have been carefully scanned by Thomas Palmer. In addition there are 13 architectural drawings from both Royal and public archives in the US, UK, BE and FR. Botanists at the various conservatories have provided the proper Latin names for plants within his photographs. Ernesto Aparicio designed the book, which will we be printed by Verona Libri, Italy in October, 2019. Prints from this project are now in several collections (Princeton Art Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Davison Art Gallery at Wesleyan University, Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum, Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and the Worcester Art Museum) and a key set is in the Mertz Library. Moriarty published Lotte Jacobi Photographs with David Godine (Boston, MA 2003). BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vermont represents his work.
Peter Moriarty’s Warm Room photographs and photogenic subject matter lend themselves beautifully to the gelatin-silver technique. The striking plant forms juxtaposed with glass house architecture provides an intriguing contrast between the built and natural environments. The Warm Room series is rich in tonal variation and texture offering a unique viewpoint into a world rarely imagined. Peter Moriarty is an emeritus professor of art, who taught both in the Vermont State Colleges and at the Trinity School in NYC. He is the author of Lotte Jacobi Photographs (2003) and his prints are represented by BigTown Gallery in Rochester, Vermont. His work is in numerous public collections including the Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Mt.Holyoke.
Join the author for a talk and book signing on February 1 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden beginning at 1:30 pm. $10 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Books will be available for purchase (extra).
