Mark Laird Lecture Reminder – Saturday November 8: The world's foremost landscape historian

The fifth lecture in our ‘Intersections in Heritage Conservation’ series is fast upon us! This coming Saturday, you are invited to the Bright Parlour at Willowbank for a lecture by Mark Laird on ‘The Botanical Art of the Past and the Environment Today.’ This lecture will run from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased via e-transfer to willowbank@willowbank.ca. There may be availability at the door, but we cannot guarantee it.

Mark has been responsible for the restoration of many of the world's most significant historic landscapes, in both North America and Europe.  His projects have included the Painshill, Strawberry Hill, and Hestercombe estates in the U.K., the Vimy site in France, and the gardens of the Governor-General in Canada.

Front cover of Laird's book, 'The Flowering of the Landscape Garden.'

While working on the Painshill project, Mark was able to track down the original 18th Century advertisement for a hermit to come and live in the estate's newly-created hermitage, one of the 'follies' that were common in the Picturesque landscape tradition at that time.  Mark later had a conversation about this finding with Tom Stoppard, the famous playwright, and this in turn influenced Stoppard's writing of the play 'Arcadia'.  As a coincidental connection for the Willowbank community, this play features a lead character named Hannah Jarvis - the same name as the original wife of Alexander Hamilton, the couple that built the Willowbank estate in the 1830s.  

Mark taught landscape history at Harvard for fifteen years, in addition to being a Senior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.  He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto.  He has been a faculty associate at Willowbank, and we are delighted to welcome him back for this special talk on ‘The Botanical Art of the Past and the Environment Today.’

Flowering garden at Painshill, Cobham, Surrey.

Remaining lectures at Willowbank:

After Mark’s lecture, the excitement continues with just two lectures left in this series:

• Saturday 15 Nov. – Jean Dendy (Toronto)

  Art conservator at the Royal Ontario Museum, with previous experience in the U.S. and Quebec, talking about art conservation and architectural conservation.

  
  

• Saturday 22 Nov. – Brett Sherlock (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

  International Consultant, Christie’s, former Board Member of the Gardiner Museum and The Niagara Foundation, sharing stories from the international world of fine art and luxury auctions. We’re thrilled to reveal that Brett will be speaking on: Personal Stories & the Relationships Behind the Landmark Auctions of HH Princess Salimah Aga Khan, HRH The Princess Margaret, & Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

To reserve your seat, please send an e-transfer to willowbank@willowbank.ca

We hope to see many of our community in attendance for these fascinating talks, and to support Willowbank: a place, a school, and a mission. A nationally-designated 13-acre historic estate, an independent school focused on academic and apprenticeship training in heritage conservation, and a nonprofit with a broad mandate to explore best ways to sustain valued human habitats.