Andy Volpe

I am an Artist, Printmaker, and Living History Presenter.

I was born in Plymouth, MA, and had grown up / lived in Lakeville and Georgetown, although I consider Sturbridge my ‘hometown’.

Having grown up visiting both Plimoth Patuxet (Plimoth Plantation) and Old Sturbridge Village, I guess it was inevitable that I would find myself getting into History and Living History as a thing.  Oddly enough, you couldn’t pay me to stand in front of my class in school, let alone doing it wearing historical clothing.  Well, since 2001 I’ve been doing just that and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

I started giving history presentations while working at Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA (see my Living History page for more info), which closed in 2014 and moved to Worcester Art Museum (which continues the various Arms & Armor programs and presentations)  As of 2011, I have been doing these programs and working as an Artist ‘full time’.

Somewhere around 2004 I had remembered some of the interesting historical / “Old Masters” printing and art-making techniques I had learned and done while at Westfield, and had started to develop a school living history presentation / workshop where I’d present younger students a college-level art history course looking at the Old Masters and their work, discuss excerpts of their writings about the art industry from their own words, and then demonstrate some of the techniques live.

Around 2009 I got involved with the Museum of Printing when it was in North Andover (moved to Haverhill in 2015…Pronounced “Hayvrill”…), where I’ve presented on both Old Master Intaglio and 19th-20th century Printing and Letterpress, affectionately called “The Black Arts”.  This was also around the time I met Gary Gregory who founded the Printing Office of Edes & Gill, where he was giving a Paul Revere copperplate printing demonstration.  So seeing he was a living historian and a printer, I felt it was someone I Had To talk to.  I started working for the Printing Office around 2012 and have been at it since.   Edes & Gill is where (we) replicate and print the documents and engravings in 1770s Boston and relating to the American Revolution, using the same (replicas) methods and materials of the period.

I have since been replicating the engravings of Paul Revere, including a full-size Boston Massacre for the 250th anniversary in March of 2020.  To the extent of my knowledge, my Boston Massacre is one of only 3 hand-engraved replicas in the last century, done exactly as Revere did his, and is currently the only replica being printed.  In part of the America 250 commemorations, I am looking to engrave & print a series of Commemorative prints. Some of my own design, and some as if Revere had done them, or in his style.

To make inquiries or to hire Andy, contact jlane@revolution250.org