Richard M. Candee

Richard M. Candee is an American historian, preservationist, and professor emeritus of American and New England Studies at Boston University. He is known for his extensive work in historic preservation, vernacular architecture, and Industrial archaeology, particularly in New England.

Education Candee earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. He also studied vernacular architecture at the University of York, England, and obtained an M.A. from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (SUNY/Oneonta). His undergraduate degree (B.A.) was from Oberlin College.

Career From 1969 to 1976, Candee served as an architectural historian at Old Sturbridge Village, where he conducted a regional survey of New England textile mill village buildings. He later became a professor at Boston University, directing the Preservation Studies Program from 1983 to 2004 and co-directing a joint M.A./J.D. program on Preservation and the Law.

Candee has served as a Trustee of Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) and the Peabody Essex Museum. He served as President of the Portsmouth Athenæum from 1980 to 1985 and as an Officer of the Portsmouth Historical Society from 2005 to 2023. Additionally, he held leadership roles in professional organizations, serving as President of the Society for Industrial Archeology in 1976 and the Vernacular Architecture Forum in 1992.

Candee co-founded Portsmouth Advocates in 1980 and curated numerous exhibitions. His work led to the publication of Building Portsmouth: The Neighborhoods and Architecture of New Hampshire’s Oldest City and other scholarly contributions.

Candee has curated and co-curated numerous historical exhibitions, including those on artists such as Russell Cheney and Thomas P. Moses. He also led a Smithsonian fellowship resulting in a traveling exhibition on 19th-century invention.

Honors and awards

1962 – Fellow, Heritage Foundation, Deerfield, MA 1964 – Geo. G. & Carrie C. Life Prize in American History, Oberlin College 1988 – 25th Anniversary Award, Massachusetts Historical Commission 1991 – Norton Prize, Society for Industrial Archeology 1992 – Arthur Gerrier Award, Portsmouth Advocates 1993 – Sullivan Fellowship, Museum of American Textile History 1994 & 1999 – Pasold Research Grants, Pasold Research Fund, England 1997 – Senior Fellow, Lemelson Center, Smithsonian NMAH 2003 – Elected Member, American Antiquarian Society 2005 – Lifetime Achievement Award, Massachusetts Historical Commission 2007 – Preservation Achievement Award, New Hampshire Preservation Alliance 2008 – Citizen of the Year, Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce 2010 – Inaugural Profiles in Preservation Award, Preservation Massachusetts 2013 – Award for Excellence, Citizen Initiative, Memorial Bridge Project 2017 – Joyce G. Volk Award of Dedication & Service, Warner House Association 2018 – Portsmouth Advocates' John Grossman Award, Portsmouth Historical Society

Selected publications Books and catalogs Candee, R. (1968). Housepaints in Colonial America Candee, R. (1985). Atlantic Heights: A World War I shipbuilder's community Candee, R. (1992). Building Portsmouth: The neighborhoods and architecture of New Hampshire's oldest city Candee, R. (2002). The artful life of Thomas P. Moses (1808–1881): "Poetry, music, painting – anything but money" Candee, R. (2005). The hand-cranked knitter and sock machine: A social history and catalogue of 19th and 20th century home knitters of American invention Candee, R. (2007). Wallace Nutting's Portsmouth: Photographs of the 'colonial' past 1908–1918 Candee, R., & Morgan, K. (Ed.). (2009). Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston Candee, R. M. (Ed.). (2011). Maritime Portsmouth: The Sawtelle collection Candee, R. (2018). Sisters of the Brush & Palette." In Gertrude Fiske, American master

Journal articles Candee, R. (1966). Strictly for the birds. Old-Time New England, 57(1), 12-14. Candee, R. (1968). The rediscovery of milk-based house paints and the myth of buttermilk red. Old-Time New England, 58(3), 79-81. Candee, R. (1969). A documentary history of Plymouth Colony architecture. Old-Time New England, 59(2), 59-71; 59(3), 105-111; 60(2), 37-53. Candee, R. (1970). Millwright and merchant: Water-powered saw-milling in 17th century Maine and New Hampshire. Old-Time New England, 60(4), 131-149. Candee, R. (1970). The early New England textile village in art. Antiques Magazine, 910-915. Candee, R. (1971). Three architects in early New Hampshire mill towns. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.