In Harriet’s Garden with Kelly Radding: Botanical Drawing Workshop

Workshop

In Harriet’s Garden with Kelly Radding

Botanical Drawing Workshop

August 27, 2022

Nasturtiums by Kelly Radding

In addition to being a bestselling author, Harriet Beecher Stowe was a talented painter. Join accomplished nature and botanical artist Kelly Radding for an afternoon of looking and learning, beginning with a viewing of three of Stowe’s paintings inside the Stowe House. Participants will then enjoy a tutorial with Radding, before finding a place to sketch in Harriet’s garden, just as she used to do.

A lifelong artist, Radding writes, “I live my dream: I travel, explore, and immerse myself in nature. And out of those experiences comes my art.” Birds, animals, and plants are central to her work; her paintings sing with her passion for the natural world, and her subjects are a testament to her love of travel and of finding the wild everywhere she wanders. She spent her childhood riding her horse, exploring the woods, and observing the comings and goings of nature. The inhabitants of her beloved New England woodlands would become her artistic muses.

Reservations are required; limited to 15 people. This program is for ages 10 and up, and is designed to be multi-generational. Registration is open.

Abridged house tour, art materials, sparkling water, and snacks will be provided.

Location The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center/77 Forest St./Hartford, CT 06105

Doors Open 2:00 pm

Program 2:00-5:00 pm

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.