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Gallery Talk: “Benning Wentworth’s Towns in Vermont and New Hampshire” with John Rule

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 16, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Saturday, June 24, 2023 11 a.m. Shaw Research Library   John Rule speaks on “Benning Wentworth’s Towns in Vermont and New Hampshire” as part of the exhibit “The Wentworth Takeover: How One Family Dominated Portsmouth and New Hampshire...

2023 Lecture Series: Before “Live Free or Die”: The Wentworth Oligarchy 1715-1775 with Sandra Rux

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 9, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Wednesday, June 21, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library & Zoom   From April through July in our Randall Gallery, the Athenaeum’s Exhibits Committee features the Wentworth family developed by historian Sandra Rux. As a complement to the exhibition, Ms. Rux...

“Advances in Understanding and Treating Disease in the 19th Century with Lessons That Still Resonate” with Fred Schubert

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Jun 1, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Thursday, June 15, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   Science educator and Proprietor Dr. Fred Schubert will give a talk on “Advances in Understanding and Treating Disease in the 19th Century with Lessons That Still Resonate.” In 1800, the world...

Author Tom Curren’s “All Join Hands” Book Talk with Proprietor Peter Randall

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | May 17, 2023 | Announcements, Events, Library

Thursday, May 25, 2023 5: 30 p.m. Sawtelle Reading Room   Join Peter Randall, publisher and photographer, in conversation with author Tom Curren about his new book All Join Hands: Dudley Laufman & the New England Country Dance Tradition. All Join Hands is a...

2023 Lecture Series: An Abundance of Cod: Fueling the New World with Ann Beattie

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | May 5, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   In her talk May 17 on An Abundance of Cod: Fueling the New World, Ann Beattie will take you a step back in time to the early 17th century when Europeans began to sail to the New World and carry home tales...

2023 Lecture Series: The Life, Near-Death, and Revival of Wood Island Station with Sam Reid

by Portsmouth Athenaeum | Apr 14, 2023 | Announcements, Events

Wednesday, April 19, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   Proprietor Sam Reid will give a talk entitled The Life, Near-Death, and Revival of Wood Island Station. The Wood Island Life Saving Station sits on a small island next to the Maine/New Hampshire border...
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Recent News

  • July 2026: The Red Light District
  • Exhibit Shines the Red Light on City’s Past
  • Portsmouth Athenæum Chamber Music 2026
  • Athenæum Interim Director
  • A Letter from Tom Hardiman, Keeper and Executive Director

Events Calendar

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3:00 PM - 2025 PACM Series: Balourdet String Quartet
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5:30 PM - Franklin Club
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3
5:00 PM - Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall"
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5:30 PM - The Historical Development of Our Understanding of the Components of Healthful Nutrition with Dr. Fred Schubert
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12
10:00 AM - Portsmouth Athenaeum Book Sale
3:00 PM - 2025 PACM Series: Terra String Quartet
13
14
15
5:30 PM - 2025 Lecture Series: “Art History at the Isles of Shoals” with Douglas Nelson and Sara Morris
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4:30 PM - Athenaeum Tea for New Members
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1
2025 PACM Series: Balourdet String Quartet
2025 PACM Series: Balourdet String Quartet
September 28, 2025    
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
South Church
  • PACM Concert Series
  • Performance & Concert Series
2025 PACM Concert Series, Balourdet String Quartet, Concerts, South Church
Winners of the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Cleveland Quartet Award, the Balourdet String Quartet is known for its fearless creativity and tight-knit [...]
More Info
Franklin Club
Franklin Club
October 1, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Franklin Club
Franklin Club, Sawtelle Reading Room
The Junto, also known as the Leather Apron Club, was a club for mutual improvement established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. The Leather [...]
More Info
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall"
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall"
October 3, 2025    
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Art Round Town
  • Exhibit Events
Art 'Round Town, Exhibits, Jonathan Mitchel Sewall 1748-1808, Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, Randall Gallery
Please join us for Art 'Round Town for our latest exhibit, "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall (c.1770-1808)," curated by Nancy Hammond in [...]
More Info
The Historical Development of Our Understanding of the Components of Healthful Nutrition with Dr. Fred Schubert
The Historical Development of Our Understanding of the Components of Healthful Nutrition with Dr. Fred Schubert
October 9, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Discussions
Proprietors, Shaw Research Library
Several cases are examined that highlight our developing knowledge of dietary needs. The discussion begins in the 18th century, when the scourge of scurvy decimated [...]
More Info
Portsmouth Athenaeum Book Sale
Portsmouth Athenaeum Book Sale
October 12, 2025    
10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum Annex
  • Community Event
Book Sale
170 State Street (next to Temple Israel, look for the garage door) Sunday, October 12th, 10-2:30 No parking in front parking lot off State Street—drop [...]
More Info
2025 PACM Series: Terra String Quartet
2025 PACM Series: Terra String Quartet
October 12, 2025    
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
South Church
  • PACM Concert Series
  • Performance & Concert Series
2025 PACM Concert Series, Concerts, South Church, Terra String Quartet
An internationally acclaimed ensemble, the Terra String Quartet has won top prizes at the Melbourne and Osaka International Chamber Music Competitions and the Fischoff National [...]
More Info
2025 Lecture Series: “Art History at the Isles of Shoals” with Douglas Nelson and Sara Morris
2025 Lecture Series: “Art History at the Isles of Shoals” with Douglas Nelson and Sara Morris
October 15, 2025    
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Discussions
  • Lecture Series
2025 Lecture Series: Beauty on the Seacoast and Beyond, Architecture and Gardens, Art Architecture and Gardens, Douglas Nelson, Isles of Shoals, Sara Morris, Shaw Research Library
The Isles of Shoals have drawn creative people ever since poetess Celia Thaxter hosted a celebrated salon on Appledore island, the largest of the Isles. [...]
More Info
Athenaeum Tea for New Members
Athenaeum Tea for New Members
October 19, 2025    
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Portsmouth Athenaeum
  • Members Events
  • Members Tea
New Members Tea, Proprietors, Sawtelle Reading Room
Please join us for an Athenaeum Tea for New Members from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Sawtelle Reading Room.
More Info
Events on September 28, 2025
2025 PACM Series: Balourdet String Quartet
2025 PACM Series: Balourdet String Quartet
28 Sep 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 1, 2025
Franklin Club
Franklin Club
1 Oct 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 3, 2025
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall"
Art 'Round Town for the exhibit "Portsmouth in the Age of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall"
3 Oct 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 9, 2025
The Historical Development of Our Understanding of the Components of Healthful Nutrition with Dr. Fred Schubert
The Historical Development of Our Understanding of the Components of Healthful Nutrition with Dr. Fred Schubert
9 Oct 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 12, 2025
Portsmouth Athenaeum Book Sale
Portsmouth Athenaeum Book Sale
12 Oct 25
Portsmouth
2025 PACM Series: Terra String Quartet
2025 PACM Series: Terra String Quartet
12 Oct 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 15, 2025
2025 Lecture Series: “Art History at the Isles of Shoals” with Douglas Nelson and Sara Morris
2025 Lecture Series: “Art History at the Isles of Shoals” with Douglas Nelson and Sara Morris
15 Oct 25
Portsmouth
Events on October 19, 2025
Athenaeum Tea for New Members
Athenaeum Tea for New Members
19 Oct 25
Portsmouth

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and by appointment

 

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Calendar of Events
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The Athenæum today continues a long tradition of mutual improvement by maintaining a library of over 40,000 volumes and an archive of materials relating to local history. The Athenæum also sponsors exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and other educational and cultural programs.

 




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(603) 431-2538

 

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Portsmouth Athenaeum
P.O. Box 366
Portsmouth, NH 03802
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