Connecticut
The Connecticut River Museum announced it has reached more than 80% of its $5,000,000 capital campaign goal. The campaign, Navigating New Waters, was started two years ago to address four strategic and transformative initiatives: retiring the $900,000 mortgage assumed when the museum purchased the neighboring Lay House property; implementing needed repairs to the deteriorating waterside bulkhead that protects the historic 1878 Steamboat Dock; bolstering the museum's endowment; and constructing the Connecticut River Discovery Center - an 1,800 square foot gallery and education space dedicated to telling the natural story of the River.
The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation. The grant will allow the Museum to implement a transformative landscape master plan designed to completely re-envision how the historic landscape is interpreted by providing visitors with a more authentic sense of the Lyme Art Colony painters' interaction with the land and the site's agrarian past. Robert Schumann was a devoted trustee and patron of the Museum for nearly two decades. Museum staff seeks to honor Schumann's legacy as an avid naturalist and philanthropist by dedicating a major component of the project in his honor. The museum engaged two of the country's leading design firms-Centerbrook Architects & Planners of Centerbrook, CT and Stephen Stimson Landscape Architects of Cambridge, MA-to create a fully integrated master plan that weds architecture and landscape in inspiring new ways and recaptures the estate's original DNA by merging art, history, and ecology.
The Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum's Executive Director Susan Gilgore, traveled to Austin, Texas to receive, on behalf of the Museum, a prestigious Leadership in History award from the American Association of State and Local History. The AASLH's national Award of Merit was given at a special banquet where the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum was recognized among "the best in state and local history," for the exhibit, The Stairs Below: The Mansion's Domestic Servants, 1868-1938. While the museum-wide exhibition officially closed on October 30th, 2016, the Servants' Quarters exhibit installation remains open and is part of the visitors' experience. The project was aimed at launching a cultural dialogue on class, race, ethnicity, politics, labor relations, and social history during a half-century of ascendancy and through the lens of two households.
This June the Stamford History Center's historic home, the 1699 Hoyt-Barnum House, reopened at its new location next to the headquarters on High Ridge Road in Stamford. The House was moved over five miles from its original location downtown on Bedford Street. Davis movers executed the move and Christopher Williams & Assoc. of New Haven oversaw the operation. The house was cut into two pieces and driven up High Ridge Rd. It was reassembled next to our main museum building after the topography of our field had been reworked to resemble the house's original location. The entire operation is viewable on YouTube under Hoyt Barnum House or Stamford Historical Society. This is one of the oldest houses to have been moved, and over a sizable distance without having been completely taken apart. The House was moved to make way for a new police station downtown.
The Friends of Weir Farm NHS were awarded a grant to fund the writing of a limited historic furnishing plan for the 19th century Weir Barn, never before open to the public. The park anticipates opening the areas to the public for the 2018 season which begins on May 1. Additionally, the park continued to work with an NPS regional conservator and architect on the design of an updated hybrid mechanical ventilation system in the farmhouse. The goal is to achieve greater regulation of interior humidity and temperature-to control their effect on collections as well as the building itself-using a combination of the building's natural ventilation system and this new hybrid system.
Massachusetts
The Art Complex Museum received a grant from the Plymouth County Development to produce the museum's annual newsletter for 2018 with color images containing information on all programs - exhibitions, concerts, classes, tea ceremonies and lectures. It is mailed to over 5,000 households throughout the United States.
Boston Children's Museum recently partnered with Science City at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri to plan and design multisensory STEAM learning experiences for young children. The Museum is working with Science City to create three areas meant to spark curiosity and creativity, and help children develop a sense of agency that will foster independent and self-directed learning. The Children's Zone will serve children birth to three years old and their adult caregivers, and will draw on Boston Children's Museum iconic PlaySpace exhibit. The second area, Messy Arts, will be a flexible STEAM space that can be used for toddlers on weekdays, and for school age children on weekends and vacations. All Aboard! will use Union Station as the backdrop for imaginary play and STEAM experiences. Interactives in All Aboard! will echo the importance of Kansas City as a transportation north-south, east-west nexus. All exhibits are planned for a 2019 opening.
Boston's Museum of Science recently announced it received a $10 million gift from MathWorks, a long-time corporate partner, to develop a new, permanent technology and engineering exhibit at the nonprofit, which traces its roots to 1830. The exhibit, under development, set to open in 2020, will be part of the initial phase of the most comprehensive project in the history of the Museum of Science (MOS), the transformation of the 100,000-square foot Blue Wing.
After nearly a year of negotiations, the leadership of both Danforth Art Museum\School and Framingham State University has agreed to a thoughtful and mutually beneficial merger, after which Danforth Art will become the Danforth Art Center at Framingham State University.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is proud to announce that it received a $52,000 grant towards a $104,000 energy efficiency project to install new LED lighting in its galleries and upgrade its energy management system. The award was part of $9.3 million in new awards from Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF) announced by The Baker-Polito Administration and Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), a state program that fosters the growth of the creative economy by supporting building projects in the non-profit arts, humanities, and sciences.
The Fitchburg Art Museum is proud to announce that its Permanent Collection of 5,000 works of art will soon expand by 10%. Prominent Boston-area art collector, Dr. Anthony Terrana, has agreed to donate his collection of photography, numbering 500 prints, to the Museum over the next few years. This represents the largest gift of artwork from a single donor to FAM since the Museum's founding in 1925.
The Forbes House Museum was selected to receive a matching grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund through the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The funds will be used for repairs and weatherproofing work to the chimneys, cupola, cornices, downspouts and related roofline elements of the 1833 Greek Revival style building, which is a National Historic Landmark. Westmill Preservation Services, out of Halifax, MA, has been awarded the exterior renovation project. Cheryl Tougias of Spalding Tougias Architects is serving as architect, supported by historic preservation consultant Jeffrey Gonyeau. Additionally, in mid-December, the Forbes House Museum will unveil its recently renovated flexible exhibition space with the exhibit, Massachusetts Help to Ireland During the Great Famine. The show will include artifacts and historical accounts of Captain Robert Bennet Forbes's heroic relief mission to Ireland in 1847.
The Harvard Art Museums have received a spectacular gift of 330 master drawings from the Dutch Golden Age. The gift was announced by George S. Abrams (Harvard A.B. '54, LL.B. '57), the esteemed Boston-based collector, at a dinner held in his honor last night. At the event, Abrams was also appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Image: Four Tulips, Jacob Marrel, c. 1637-45. Watercolor and gouache over graphite on vellum. The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
The past eighteen months have been a time of reflection, redirection, and hard work at Historical Society of Greenfield following a turning point in early March of 2016: an internal pipe burst, causing extensive damage to the 1st floor (no artifacts were lost). Since May of 2017, The Society has been open to the public for 27 days, hosted research guests on an additional 12 days, won $3,000 in grants, and logged well over 1,000 volunteer hours. Grants have covered visits from the state Roving Archivist to assist with improving access to the collections; a Research Inventory Grant; and a Resupply grant for new archival materials to better protect the collections. We have built on connections with the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage, Historic Deerfield, and the Pioneer Valley History Network, as well as the Library, the Family Center, and local civic groups.
Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and Susan and Matthew Weatherbie have made a commitment to give their exceptional collections of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston-a donation that will constitute the largest gift of European paintings in MFA history. The Boston-area collectors plan to give the MFA not only their art collections, but also funding to establish a Center for Netherlandish Art at the MFA, the first of its kind in the US. In addition, the Van Otterloos will give a major research library to serve as a resource for the Center.
The Museum of Russian Icons has received the largest donation of its decade-long history. The Clinton museum announced that Edward and Joan Simpson, of Bourne, have donated their collection of 18th and 19th century pieces that includes 91 icons and 28 related Russian Orthodox objects, including bronze crosses and a jeweled wedding crown. Curator Kent Russell says the gift fills in some of the missing pieces in the chronological history of the current collection of more than 1,000 items.
As part of a comprehensive project to care for its extensive costume and textile collections, project specialist Jennifer Nieling at the Nantucket Historical Association has recently examined the significant holdings of quilts and coverlets, totaling about 75 pieces. Going through every object in this collection for the first time in decades has revealed a number of unique and exciting pieces, including a silk patchwork quilt made by Lucretia Coffin Mott. The large quilt made by Mott, a Nantucket-born Quaker, abolitionist, and women's rights activist, was donated in 1967 by Mrs. J. G. Richard Heckscher, a descendant of the famous feminist, from Devon, Pennsylvania. It is T-shaped to fit over a four-poster bed, and from top to foot measures nearly ten feet. The quilt is completely hand sewn and is pieced with many small blocks of fabric, including diamonds, triangles, and a sunburst motif at the foot of the quilt. It was likely made from scraps of old garments, as many of the pieces are modest silks and drab colors, which were frequently used in Quaker dress. These rarely seen collections have now been fully cataloged and are available for researchers and the public to view in the NHA's online collections database at www.nha.org. The NHA's costume and textile project is made possible by a Collections Stewardship grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Image: Quilt by Lucretia Mott Quilt, courtesy of the Nantucket Historical Association
The Needham Historical Society has rebranded and launched a new logo as the Needham History Center & Museum. The museum wants the organization to be seen as a public center for education and information, as a community partner, and as a resource for the town and schools.
The New Bedford Whaling Museum's High School Apprenticeship Program has won the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. The award is presented through a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in cooperation with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. The whaling museum's High School Apprenticeship Program is one of 12 winners across the country, out of 342 youth programs, and it is the only awardee in New England.
The Northeast Document Conservation Center received a $28,400 grant from The Massachusetts Cultural Councill (MCC) through the Cultural Investment Portfolio program. The program gives grants to groups that support and create public programs in the arts, sciences, and humanities around the state, and the grant will help fund the NEDCC's work.
The Paul Revere Memorial Association's new Paul Revere House Education and Visitor Center has been recognized with both a local and a national award. The facility was one of ten recognized with a Boston Preservation Alliance Preservation Achievement Award and one of three in Massachusetts to be honored with an American Association for State and Local History, Leadership in History Award of Merit.
The Barr Foundation in Boston announced that it has granted $7,065,000 to 33 Massachusetts nonprofits to help develop innovative high school models, revitalize regional arts districts, and strengthen community engagement in clean energy. The Trustees of Reservations, Boston, received $150,000 to support strategic outreach and communications counsel for Trustees' work on the Boston waterfront.
Maine
The city of Portland has signed off on the move of the Children's Museum and Theater of Maine. The museum outgrew its downtown location and plans to move to a new building at Thompson's Point in Spring 2019. The Portland Press Herald reports that the Planning Board unanimously approved a site plan permit. Plans call for construction of a 29,000-square-foot, three-story cultural center on 1.12 acres. Suzanne Olson, the museum's executive director, said the building that houses the existing museum will be put on the market and sold, but not until after the move is completed.
The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations (Trustees) are pleased to announce that the Campaign for Woodlawn has received a $350,000 grant from a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous. The Campaign for Woodlawn is the fundraising effort to fund an $8.2 million project that will establish a multi-purpose facility on the 180-acre historic estate in Ellsworth, Maine.
Presque Isle Historical Society was recently awarded a $1,000 grant from Maine Humanities Council and a $100 donation from Presque Isle Rotary with which to create an exhibit entitled "Talking Wires: The Impact of the Telephone Switchboard (and telephone) on rural northern Maine." This exhibit, which will debut at the opening of the Maysville Museum in April for the 2018 season, will showcase our restored Western Union switchboard with an interactive display, historic photographs, and oral histories from retired area switchboard operators.
On November 7, Presque Isle Historical Society was presented with an Honor Award from Maine Preservation for its restoration efforts on the Maysville Museum. The museum is located at 165 Caribou Road in Presque Isle. The site is historically significant in that it served simultaneously as the Maysville Town Hall, the Maysville Grange, and the Maysville School. Maysville was the town that once sat between Presque Isle and Caribou. It was, in fact, incorporated at the same time as Presque Isle (1859) and annexed by Presque Isle in 1883.
Image courtesy of Aroostook County Tourism, Maine.
New Hampshire
Through the Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative, the Ford Foundation and Walton Family Foundation will support innovative strategies and programs to advance diversity across the sector, including hiring professionals from under-represented populations and offering fellowships, mentorships, and other career development options for diverse professionals. The Diversifying Art Museum Leadership Initiative will fund 20 pioneering programs, one of which is Hood Museum of Art, in Hanover, NH, to support an associate curator, postdoctoral fellow, and undergraduate intern focused on Native American art.
New York
The Southold Historical Society has been approved for a grant by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation in the amount of $72,245 to complete a project for the care of its collection. The creation of a good environment for all parts of the collection fulfills the society's mission of being a good steward of what has been entrusted to the society over the years. The funds will be used to install heating and cooling systems (HVAC)in several of its historic houses and structures.
Rhode Island
A free community kickoff event on December 14, 5:30pm, at The 400 (400 Smith St., Providence) will launch Rhode Tour's new Smith Hill neighborhood mobile tour. The new tour was made possible by a grant from the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture + Tourism to the Rhode Island Historical Society for research and development, and the Smith Hill neighborhood was selected because of its robust yet often neglected history. Rhode Tour is a free mobile app and website that tells stories by and about Rhode Islanders and is a joint initiative of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Brown University's John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, and the Rhode Island Historical Society.
The Preservation Society of Newport County received an Historic Preservation Project Award from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission and Preserve Rhode Island for its restoration of the roof of the Chinese Tea House at Marble House. Built for Alva Vanderbilt Belmont in 1914, the tea house overlooks Newport's Cliff Walk. The roof had been patched and repaired repeatedly over the years, and was leaking badly. This time, the old roofing was demolished, the roof deck repaired and reinforced and an ice and water shield installed. New custom terra cotta tiles - replicas of the original tiles - were installed, and the original decorative copper ridges restored.
The Preservation Society of Newport County also shared in a Landscape Restoration Award as part of the Scenic Aquidneck Coalition, a partnership that included non-profits, local and federal government and the private sector to achieve the burial of utility lines to restore one of Rhode Island's most historic and scenic vistas, the area known as Paradise Valley in Middletown.
Construction of a new Welcome Center at The Breakers, one of the top 10 historic house museums in the country, is well underway, with completion expected by summer 2018. The Welcome Center will provide ticketing services, accessible restrooms, and light refreshments for the 450,000 people who annually visit The Breakers (1895), operated by The Preservation Society of Newport County.
"Pierre Cardin: 70 Years of Innovation" an exhibition in the galleries at Rosecliff, has been extended through February 25, 2018. The exhibition, curated by the designer himself in partnership with The Preservation Society of Newport County, features 42 iconic fashions taken from his Paris archives, documenting his legendary career.
Touro Synagogue is now one of seven museums involved in a collaborative ticketing initiative, 36 Hours in Newport, RI. The initiative, http://www.36hoursinnewportri.com, offers a combination ticket to 3 or 7 sites at a greatly reduced price. Other participating sites are: Audrain Automobile Museum, International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, Newport Art Museum, Rough Point, Redwood Library & Athenaeum, Marble House and Touro Synagogue."
