An Extraordinary Legacy: The Photographs of Marie Hartig Kendall @ Norfolk Historical Society

Each season the Norfolk Historical Society organizes a major exhibition, and this summer's exhibit displays the photography of Marie Hartig Kendall from 1854 when few women practiced this art form.  The Historical Society will be open for Weekend in Norfolk and this exhibition will run through Columbus Day on weekends from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Kendall, a self-taught photographer moved to Norfolk with her husband in 1878 where she opened her photography business. She took many images of life in Norfolk showcasing its development, natural beauty, the relationship of the people living in this town to the landscape and the surrounding environment.

This exhibition includes many notable images such as the photo of Sarah Bishop's Cave, a landmark on West Mountain. Bishop was a hermit that escaped to this cave after the Revolutionary War until her death. Another image, the facade of the Norfolk Public Library with its barrel tile roof, scalloped shingles and window boxes overflowing with summer flowers shows the bucolic aspect of Norfolk that the town still exudes today.

Other images capture locomotives, historic weather events, economic development and bucolic pastimes as the town flourished as a summer resort at the turn of the century.  Images include those that won her top honors at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  The Marie Kendall Exhibition runs weekends from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through Columbus Day at the Norfolk Historical Society located on 13 Village Green.