Portrait of Sister Emma J. Neale, Church Family, Mount Lebanon, NY, ca. 1885, made from an earlier cabinet card portrait.
Tailor's counter used by Sister Emma J. Neale to make cloaks.
Sister Emma Jane Neale, a Shaker sister who came to the community when she was only eight years old, became a trustee at Mount Lebanon in 1882 at the age of 35. In charge of finances, she proved conservative and shrewd, managing real estate and timber sales and negotiating land rights for railroad expansion. In 1935 she invested 543 shares of the Shakers’ stock in public companies including General Electric, New England Power, Springfield Gas Light, and AT&T. Neale also revived the Shaker cloak business, taking out a patent in 1902 for the long wool cloaks with silk linings and ties and marketing them under the name E.J. Neale & Co., Mount Lebanon, NY.
Curatorial Associate
Shane Rothe (they/them) joined Shaker Museum in July 2023, working with independent curator Maggie Taft on an exhibition for the new museum space in Chatham. Shane is an artist as well as a curator and continues to create in the mediums of painting, sculpture, writing, and performance. Shane holds a BFA from CalArts and an MA in art history and curatorial studies from the University of Chicago.
