Maryland Center for History and Culture: Historic Painted Screens Tour

In the summer of 1913, the corner grocer at Collington and Ashland Avenues in the heart of Northeast Baltimore's Bohemian (Czech) community, was the first person to introduce colorful scenes on woven wire. William Oktavec painted the front doors of his shop with images of the meat and produce he sold inside. 

A neighbor admired his artwork and its practical bonus of preventing passersby from seeing inside his store, while he could see outside. Wishing to maintain privacy in her rowhouse, she asked Oktavec to paint a screen for her front window. Each of her neighbors demanded their own - for every window and door of the house. [from the Painted Screen Society of Baltimore]

Maryland Center for History and Culture invites you on a tour of our newly acquired historic Baltimore painted screens for Doors Open Baltimore. Attendees will hear from Abby Doran, MCHC’s Assistant Curator, and Deborah Wood, MCHC’s Museum Learning Manager, about the legacy of painted window screens and how this tradition grew in Baltimore City. Participants will enjoy the opportunity to step into MCHC’s collections storage to view painted screens that aren’t on display. 

Meeting place: 610 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201