Author info:

Nicholas Whitman is a photographer and occasional historian living in Williamstown.

His work has appeared in museum publications including those of the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute and Frederic Edwin Church's Olana Partnership.

His photographs are in private and public collections including the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield.

He is the former curator of photography at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Nicholas Whitman is available for interviews on the Colonial Theatre as a subject for expressive photography and for long-term documentation.
". . . sometimes it is obvious that a subject is special and that it will be changing form—for better or worse. Future generations—even we ourselves—will wonder what it was like. The Colonial struck me as just such a place. It isn't the first."
   media@colonialtheatrebook.com
www.nwphoto.com


Publication details:

The Colonial Theatre: A Pittsfield Resurrection
Narrative and photography by Nicholas Whitman.
Contributing esssays by David Fleming, Steve Miller, James W. Ruberto, Nicholas Whitman, Anne Everest Wojtkowski.
144 pages, 9 inches high x 11 inches wide.
Designer: Geraldine Millham, Westport, MA.
Printer: Studley Press, Dalton, MA.
Published: June 2008.
ISBN 978-0-615-20287-7 		  www.thestudleypress.com


Events:

   

Solo show, Ferrin Gallery
August 8 - September 6, 2008

Reception & book signing: Friday, August 8, 6 pm – 8 pm.
A portion of the sales will benefit the on-going programming of the Colonial Theatre. 		  Announcement (PDF file)
www.FerrinGallery.com


Interview on regional NPR stations
August 8, 2008

Nicholas Whitman spoke for 15 minutes with WAMC's Roundtable hosts Joe Donahue and Sarah LaDuke about his new book and show of photographs. 		  Listen to the interview
MP3 file

Roundtable home page
www.wamc.org/prog-roundtable.html


Book launch, Colonial Theatre
June 19, 2008

The Colonial will partner with the Ferrin Gallery and photographer Nicholas Whitman to celebrate the release of The Colonial Theatre: A Pittsfield Resurrection on June 19th from 6 pm-8 pm at the Colonial. The event is open to the public and will include light refreshments. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the photographer. The books will be priced at $40. 		  Press release (Microsoft Word file)
www.thecolonialtheatre.org
www.FerrinGallery.com


Images:

   

Book jacket

   Web (480 x 369 pixels)
Print (1800 x 1383 pixels)
   

Stage forward (audience)

"In April 1903 the local dailies carried a press release . . . The building will have a frontage of 61 feet and a depth of 130 feet and will be 42 feet high . . . The theatre will seat 1,200 people . . . the floor will continually slope downward as it nears the stage . . . There will be twelve boxes, six on a side, a balcony, and a gallery above that."
View from Stage During Restoration
View from Stage Re-Opening Night, 8-29-06 		  Web (640 x 268 pixels)
Print (1800 x 752 pixels)

Web (640 x 296 pixels)
Print (1800 x 832 pixels)
   

Face on bench

"Vandals who had pried several of them loose and attempted to make a run with them had disturbed several faces from their hibernation. George Miller had intercepted the thieves and the faces were placed on the pew-style wooden benches of the third balcony, in direct proximity to the spots from where they had been taken." 		  Web (480 x 480 pixels)
Print (1801 x 1800 pixels)
   

Soundboard mural

"The centerpiece of the Colonial’s ornamentation is the soundboard mural. It contains a figure composition representing music and drama. The two figures are surrounded by cherubs with musical instruments and flowers." 		  Web (480 x 480 pixels)
Print (1801 x 1800 pixels)
   

Author

 		   Web (222 x 320 pixels)
Print (1244 x 1800 pixels)