This year marks the 200th birthday of Frederic Church, the Hudson River School painter whose mountaintop home, Olana, helped shape how Americans imagined upstate New York. To kick off a three-part series for Frederic Church 200, James starts where Church did – outside the house itself, on Earth Day, looking out at the same view Church called "the center of the world." Then he drives north to the Albany Institute of History & Art, which holds 72 letters between Church and his close friend, the Albany sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer. Curator Diane Shewchuk is in what she calls the "panic phase" of building an exhibition around those letters, because "Your Friend, Frederic E. Church" opens June 6. Thank goodness she spared time to walk us through how she writes, organizes, and builds an exhibition of this scale. Our conversation moves through Palmer's ink-stained desk, Church's six-page travelogues from Beirut and Petra, a painting made for a child who died at two, and a very helpful freight elevator. Also: Big shout out to index cards. Featured Guest: Diane Shewchuk – Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Albany Institute of History & Art "Your Friend, Frederic E. Church" – On view at the Albany Institute of History & Art from June 6 through October 12, 2026. Opening reception: June 5 Full programming calendar: albanyinstitute.org This episode was produced in partnership with the Albany Institute of History & Art. Special thanks to Diane Shewchuk and Marisa Espe. Subscribe: Get the newsletter at thejiffy.xyz — photos, behind-the-scenes extras, interviews, and a monthly curated list of arts and sciences events across upstate New York. Until next time, I'll see you over on the James Cave Instagram Feed.