Inspired by Elbert Hubbard’s own belief in stimulating his workers with lectures, the Roycroft is excited to bring speakers back to the Campus.
2023 Roycroft Campus Spring Lecture Series

The Roycroft Campus is offering a Spring Lecture Series. The presentations will be offered both in-person and virtually through Zoom. Our first talk is on Miriam Hubbard, the daughter of Elbert and Alice presented by one of her grand children. Next, artist-in-residence, Charlie Clough will explore the “fine” arts produced during the time of the Roycroft. Finally, Roycroft Campus Director of Programming, will be examining the interconnection between four architectural treasures in Western New York. In person talks are Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm in the Roycroft Power House. Virtual talks take place on Zoom, Saturday mornings at 11:00am EST.
FREE for Roycroft Campus Members. Members please call the Roycroft Campus to register for this program, or call to become a Member at 716-655-0261.
Individual presentations are available for $20 per person.
All proceeds go to support the educational programming and restoration of the Roycroft Campus.
The Roycroft History Course is made possible with funding from Erie County, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.


The Life of Miriam Elberta Hubbard: Elbert and Alice Hubbard's Love Child
Thursday, July 20th at 7pm EST – Roycroft Power House
Saturday, July 22nd at 11am EST – VIRTUAL
Click on above date to register, or call the Campus at 716-655-0261
After years of scandal and front-page coverage in papers across the country, in January 1904, Elbert and Alice were finally free to marry and with 9-year-old Miriam, they moved to the Roycroft. This talk will focus on Miriam’s life in the years before, her youth at the Roycroft, and what happened when she was suddenly orphaned at age 20. Based on biographies of her parents, Roycroft and family photos, newspaper articles, letters, Miriam’s unpublished papers, and family stories, Elizabeth Garber, one of Miriam’s grandchildren, explores what Miriam’s life was like, in and out of the public spotlight.

Elizabeth Garber

Elizabeth Garber author photo copyright Amy Wilton
Elizabeth Garber has been a popular Maine writer for twenty-five years, a Poet Laureate of her small city, who has read her work widely, given historical/literary classes, and has written four collections of poetry, and two memoirs, Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter and Sailing at the Edge of Disaster: A Memoir of a Young Woman’s Daring Year
She is currently writing an historical novel about her grandmother’s life as a love child at the turn of the 20th century, and how she attempted to escape shame and grief by creating a home for her family on the farm she inherited from her parents. For more information about Elizabeth’s work, go to www.elizabethgarber.com
``Fine`` Art During the Time of the Roycroft 1895-1938
Wednesday, May 10th at 7pm EST – Roycroft Power House
Saturday, May 13th at 11am EST – VIRTUAL
Click on above date to register, or call the Campus at 716-655-0261
The “fine” art produced between 1895 and 1938, the years of the Roycroft, may have been the most creative and diverse period of art ever: in Europe, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Orphism, Futurism, Suprematism, Dada, Surrealism; and in America, late Hudson River, Tonalism, The Ashcan School, Synchromism, Regionalists, Modernist Abstraction—all provide rich and fascinating material. Photography and printing greatly impacted how art functioned in terms of content and social reach. Illustration bloomed in the service of storytelling and constitutes a particular branch of art. The rise of museums in this period reflects the value of art as a thing-in-itself.
Mr. Clough will give us an overview of European and American painting and the Golden Age of Illustration during the period of the Roycroft. He will also address collecting, both experiences and art objects, the “layering of significance at the Roycroft” today, and the potential for a cultural eco-system at the Castiglia Art Center, underscoring the challenge, “that you can do it too.” This all culminates in Clough’s own exhibition, “Garden and Gates,” in the Castiglia Art Center, May 16—June 11, 2023, where he will debut his latest innovation of “interactive passive cinema.”

Charlie Clough

The Dirty Story Behind the Birth of Four Architectural Treasures
Wednesday, May 17th at 7pm EST – Roycroft Power House
Saturday, May 20th at 11am EST – VIRTUAL
To register for this presentation CLICK HERE
This presentation explores the complex relationship among four giants in American history that all intersect around the turn of the 19th to 20th century in Buffalo, New York. John Larkin, owner of one of the largest soap companies in the world, Elbert Hubbard, mastermind behind the Roycroft Campus, businessman Darwin D. Martin, and the world famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Their joint relationship would help create four architectural treasures; the Larkin Administration building, the Martin House, Graycliff, and the Roycroft Campus, which are once again beckoning people today.

Alan Nowicki

Alan Nowicki
Mr. Nowicki came to the Roycroft Campus in 2010 by way of PBS. He is responsible for all classes and programming on the Campus, including tours, instructors and workshops, the Roycroft art shows, the Roycroft Film Society and Book Club, and special events throughout the year. He also helps maintain the Campus website, as well as the training and handling of volunteers and docents. He has 15 years of experience working in educational programming, professional development and community outreach.
Mr. Nowicki has also been a teacher for more than 20 years, having taught in every grade level from Pre-K through college, specializing in art and history. He has given multiple talks around the region on Elbert Hubbard and the history of the Roycroft Campus.