Conservation Project Support

May 2009 Grant Announcement

Arizona  |  California  |  Connecticut  |  District of Columbia  |  Florida  |  Illinois  |  Maine

Massachusetts  |  New York  |  North Carolina  |  Ohio  |  Pennsylvania  |  South Dakota

Texas  |  Vermont  |  Virginia  |  Wisconsin

Arizona

Museum of Northern Arizona - Flagstaff, AZ
Award Amount: $114,924; Matching Amount: $115,991

Contact: Ms. Elaine Hughes
Collections Manager
(928)774-5211x228; ehughes@mna.mus.az.us

Project Title: "Preservation of Museum of Northern Arizona Botany and Entomology Collections in Delta Design Cabinets on Space Saver Carriages"
The Museum of Northern Arizona will purchase and install new compact storage units for approximately 36,000 botany and 250,000 entomology specimens. Activities will include updating of botanical scientific names following modern taxonomic standards, construction of archival storage containers for at-risk specimens in acidic bags and boxes, inspection and freezing of specimens to deter pests, and updating the collections database for better access. Properly organized and housed specimens with documentation that reflects modern standards will improve collection access by museum collection, research, and education staff; outside scholars; and the museum’s audience; and will ensure that these significant collections are preserved for future use.

California

Davis Arboretum, University of California - Davis, CA
Award Amount: $109,965; Matching Amount: $117,604

Contact: Mia Ingolia
Curator
(530)754-8219; meingolia@ucdavis.edu

Project Title: "Conservation Assessment and GIS Tree Assessment Module for UC Davis Arboretum"
The University of California’s Davis Arboretum will conduct a detailed conservation assessment of the 2,200 trees in the plant collection, including photographic documentation and in-depth examination by a consulting arborist for treatment recommendations for particular specimens; develop a long-term conservation plan for the trees; design and build a geographic information system tree assessment module that will be distributed to botanical gardens and zoo horticulturists nationwide; and develop educational programs for visitors and online audiences about the conservation of living collections and the ecological benefits trees provide. Programs will include a partnership with UC Davis faculty and students to create class projects that allow students to conduct research in the arboretum and share their results with visitors by designing interpretive signs and a cell phone tour with messages about the project and the arboretum’s leadership in collections conservation nationally.

San Diego Historical Society - San Diego, CA
Award Amount: $80,875; Matching Amount: $80,875

Contact: Ms. Victoria Cranner
Director of Collection/Registrar
(619)232-6203x164; victoria.cranner@sandiegohistory.org

Project Title: "General Survey and Long Range Conservation Plan"
The San Diego Historical Society will hire a team of consultants to provide an overall survey of the entire collection, including three historic structures—the Villa Montezuma (1887), the Marston House (1905), and the Serra Museum (1929)—as well as perform an overview assessment of the paintings, works on paper, and archival materials held in these structures. The survey will gather information on all aspects of the facilities and operations that affect the care and management of the historical society’s holdings. The General Survey and Long-range Preservation Plan that will result from the project will enable the historical society to develop a rigorous program for addressing institutional conservation needs and will ensure proper stewardship of the collections for the future.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - San Fransisco, CA
Award Amount: $122,546; Matching Amount: $123,179

Contact: Ms. Michelle Barger
Conservator
(415)357-4052x00000; mbarger@sfmoma.org

Project Title: "Detailed Conservation Survey of Three-Dimensional Objects in Architecture and Design Collection"
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will conduct the first item-by-item conservation survey of the more than 1,000 three-dimensional objects in the Architecture and Design Department and develop a long-term preservation plan. Recognized as one of the foremost repositories of California modern and contemporary architecture and design, the collection emphasizes experimental work in a broad range of design traditions and media, with highlights including the Eames Conference Room (c. 1989) by Charles and Ray Eames; Frank O. Gehry’s Fish Lamp (c. 1983 and 2003); and the NeXT Cube (c. 1986), a computer created by Steve Jobs. The project will expand methodologies for conservation of contemporary art to include architecture and design, and will share the new condition survey methodology and templates on its Web site.

Connecticut

Connecticut Historical Society - Hartford, CT
Award Amount: $126,175; Matching Amount: $139,668

Contact: Dr. Nancy Finlay
Curator of Graphics
(860)236-5621x236; nancy_finlay@chs.org

Project Title: "Treatment of Lithographs by the Kellogg Brothers of Hartford"
The Connecticut Historical Society will treat the most endangered lithographs in the largest extant collection of prints by the Kellogg brothers of Hartford, Connecticut, a pioneering and prolific family of lithographers. Nineteenth-century lithographs were printed on poor-quality paper and were frequently sold framed in highly acidic wood frames with wood backings. Although the editions were large, few examples of individual prints survive today, and those that do are typically in poor condition, brittle and discolored. With intervention and treatment, these prints can be shared with a wider audience through upcoming exhibits and publications.

Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University - New Haven, CT
Award Amount: $149,282; Matching Amount: $152,375

Contact: Ms. Catherine Sease
Senior Conservator
(203)432-3965; catherine.sease@yale.edu

Project Title: "Preventive Conservation of Fossil Fish at Yale Peabody Museum"
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University will conserve and rehouse approximately 7,600 specimens in the Vertebrate Paleontology Fossil Fish collection. These specimens are presently housed in substandard conditions, including the acidic boxes and packing materials in which they were collected more than 100 years ago. All specimens will be conserved and rehoused to the highest conservation standards and digitally photographed, bringing the museum one step closer to achieving its overarching goal of making every specimen within the Vertebrate Paleontology Collections instantly available for study.

District of Columbia

National Museum of Women in the Arts - Washington, DC
Award Amount: $21,256; Matching Amount: $25,726

Contact: Mr. Alan Francisco
Head Registrar
(202)783-7377; afrancisco@nmwa.org

Project Title: "National Museum of Women in the Arts Environmental Assessment"
The National Museum of Women in the Arts, the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists, will hire consultants to study the building and mechanical systems, analyze monthly monitoring data of the museum environment, and help identify and evaluate improvement strategies by reviewing the overall building, operations, and documentation and interviewing staff about relevant conservation and operational issues. A workshop will also be held with the consulting team and staff to discuss the results of the monitoring, prioritize objectives, and consider approaches to improving the interior environment.

Drayton Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation - Washington, DC
Award Amount: $82,250; Matching Amount: $82,250

Contact: Dr. Carter Hudgins
Interim Director of Preservation
(843)769-2617; carter_hudgins@draytonhall.org

Project Title: "Improving Storage for Drayton Hall's Archaeological Collection"
Drayton Hall will improve storage for its invaluable archaeological collection of more than 500,000 artifacts, the product of various stages of fieldwork carried out on the property from 1975 until the present. Activities will include cleaning current storage facilities, purchasing and installing new storage equipment, and rehousing the archaeological collection using archival-quality materials. These enhancements will significantly reduce the risk of further deterioration and of loss of provenance information; allow staff to access the collection for routine cleaning and cataloguing; facilitate new opportunities for scholarly research through collaboration with Clemson University; and prepare the collection for future research, conservation, and exhibition in an interpretive center.

Florida

Wolfsonian - Florida International University - Miami, FL
Award Amount: $34,718; Matching Amount: $34,718

Contact: Ms. Kimberly Bergen
Registrar
(305)535-2630; kim@thewolf.fiu.edu

Project Title: "The Wolfsonian-Florida International University (FIU) Conservation Program Support General Survey"
The Wolfsonian Museum will hire conservators to conduct a general assessment of its collection of modern art and design, including fine and decorative arts as well as political and commercial graphics dating from 1885 to 1945, and the two facilities that house these objects. The project also provides funding for a one-day training session for museum staff who handle and care for the collection, and will provide information to develop a long-term collection care plan and facility master plan ensuring that the collections will be cared for and safely stored for future generations.

Illinois

Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - Chicago, IL
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $151,965

Contact: Dr. Gil Stein
Director
(773)702-4098; gstein@uchicago.edu

Project Title: "Museum Artifact Storage"
The Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago will upgrade storage conditions for archaeological collections consisting of a range of excavated materials from Megiddo, Israel, and four Nubian sites: Bab Kalabsha, Ballana, Qasr el Wizz, and Qustul. The 2,111 objects range from oversized storage jars to small shell and bone artifacts. Grant funds will be used to purchase museum-quality storage cabinets, heavy-duty industrial pallet racks, and archival packing materials needed for the rehousing. This project will allow the museum to better care for these objects and provide better access for researchers and museum visitors.

Maine

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, ME
Award Amount: $56,022; Matching Amount: $56,888

Contact: William Culina
Garden and Plant Curator
(207)633-4333; wcullina@mainegardens.org

Project Title: "Implementing Programmable Central Control for water Management of Living Plants Collections at the Costal Maine Botanical Gardens"
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will purchase and install programmable central control for water management of its living plant collections. This state-of-the-art system includes four wireless radio-controlled field satellites, flow sensors to control irrigation to widely spaced gardens, a wireless weather station to input data to the central computer, and a self-cleaning filtration system for on-site well water. Automated central control will save time and money on irrigation system maintenance by quickly reporting deviations from system parameters and by pinpointing problems such as line breaks and valve failures. This project is part of the garden’s environmental sustainability initiative and will reduce water usage by 25 percent over the current manual system.

L. C. Bates Museum, Good Will-Hinckley Homes - Hinckley, ME
Award Amount: $11,126; Matching Amount: $23,783

Contact: Ms. Deborah Staber
Director/Curator
2072384250; lcbates@gwh.org

Project Title: "The Treatment and Preservation of Historic Bird Mounts and Their Cases"
The L.C. Bates Museum will conserve 35 unique historic and scientific ornithological taxidermy mounts and their historic case housing dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The project activities will be shared with other museum colleagues through museum newsletter articles and a workshop, and will be shared with visitors through an exhibit and docent tours, five family workshops, a hands-on activity, and a public cable television program of the museum workshop. These bird specimens have significant scientific, artistic, educational, and historical value that meet the needs of today’s visitors, and they need to be preserved for future generations of learners.

Massachusetts

New England Aquarium - Boston, MA
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $180,873

Contact: James Duffey
Director of Design and Project Management
(617)742-0247; jduffey@neaq.org

Project Title: "Giant Ocean Tank Life Support Upgrade"
The New England Aquarium will upgrade the life support system for its centerpiece exhibit, the Giant Ocean Tank’s Caribbean Reef, by installing more efficient filtration technology. This will contribute to a healthier environment for the animals, improve water clarity, and prepare the aquarium for complete renovation of the exhibit tank and habitat, scheduled for 2010. Improvements to this exhibit, the aquarium’s central attraction, will free up staff time, reduce expenses, improve the experience of the aquarium’s 1.3 million yearly visitors, and most important, contribute to healthier conditions for the exhibit’s 755 inhabitants, representing 152 species.

Historic New England - Boston, MA
Award Amount: $129,700; Matching Amount: $189,820

Contact: Mr. John Childs
Conservator
(978)521-4788x711; jchilds@historicnewengland.org

Project Title: "Environmental Improvements at Historic New England Sites"
Historic New England will improve the efficiency and reliability of its house museum environmental control systems: modifying heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems in four principal properties; simplifying control devices at multiple sites, reducing reliance on complicated “black-box” controls; and improving all environmental monitoring programs for easier administration and data gathering and tracking. Historic New England will also convene a two-day roundtable of regional museum professionals responsible for designing, installing, and maintaining environmental control systems in historic house museums to discuss the latest ideas and experiences, problems, and solutions.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum - Boston, MA
Award Amount: $73,050; Matching Amount: $82,945

Contact: Ms. Valentine Talland
Senior Objects Conservator
(617)278-5134; vtalland@isgm.org

Project Title: "Titian Room & Tapestry Room Objects Conservation"
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will conserve objects installed in two important galleries, the Titian Room and the Tapestry Room, which are both central to the visitor experience and education programs at the museum. The group of objects to be conserved includes a portrait of King Philip IV of Spain by Velazquez, a marble bust of a Venetian senator, and a rare 17th-century Japanese Namban chest. Isabella Gardner personally designed her galleries and the arrangement of all art objects in the museum. Conserving these objects will allow the museum to continue to present that legacy to visitors into the future.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard College - Cambridge, MA
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $200,477

Contact: Dr. William Fash
Director
(617)496-4884; wfash@fas.harvard.edu

Project Title: "Conservation and rehousing of the Peabody Museum's collection of historic maps, archaeological site plans and architectural drawings"
The Peabody Museum will conserve, rehouse, and improve storage of nearly 4,000 historic maps, architectural drawings, archaeological site plans, and related anthropological fieldwork documents dating as early as the 1840s. Highlights of the collection include documentation of the fieldwork on the Hopewell culture sites of the Ohio, archives of the Awatovi Ruins excavation of the 1930s, and maps and documents from Chan Chan, a UNESCO World Heritage site. New storage will allow the museum to share these resources with researchers and students alike.

New York

Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Buffalo, NY
Award Amount: $50,000; Matching Amount: $127,858

Contact: Ms. Laura Fleischmann
Senior Registrar
(716)270-8279; lfleischmann@albrightknox.org

Project Title: "Collections Care, Storage, and Access Project: Works on Paper"
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery will purchase and install a high-density rolling storage system to expand and upgrade on-site storage for its growing collection of more than 4,000 prints, drawings, photographs, and unique works on paper housed in the Frederic P. Norton Family Prints and Drawings Study Center. The project will result in a 30 percent increase in current storage capacity to alleviate existing storage shortages, provide for future growth, and improve overall care of and access to the collection. This important collection, with works dating back to the 16th century, will be better protected and more accessible to researchers and visitors alike.

Frick Collection - New York, NY
Award Amount: $52,849; Matching Amount: $58,742

Contact: Mr. Joseph Godla
Conservator
(212)547-6864; godla@frick.org

Project Title: "Treatment of a 16th Century Herat Carpet"
The Frick Collection will treat an important 16th-century Herat carpet in its collection. The carpet, purchased in 1916 by Henry Clay Frick, is the earliest and most significant of the six Persian carpets in the collection, and the only one that is regularly on view. The carpet is the centerpiece of one of the most cherished rooms of the Frick mansion, the Living Hall, a historic interior that looks much as it did when Henry Frick was alive. The carpet will be vacuumed, solvent-cleaned to reduce impregnated adhesives and stains, and wet-cleaned, and old repairs will be addressed and rectified. A new aluminum-faced platform will be built to protect the carpet from visitors’ feet once it is back on view.

American Museum of Natural History - New York, NY
Award Amount: $74,090; Matching Amount: $91,452

Contact: Ms. Judith Levinson
Conservator
(212)769-5434; levinson@amnh.org

Project Title: "Conservation Treatment of Totem Poles in the American Museum of Natural History's Hall of Northwest Coast Indians"
The American Museum of Natural History will conserve the most fragile totem poles and large wood carvings housed in the historic Hall of Northwest Coast Indians. This collection is the largest and most important collection of 19th and early 20th century American Northwest Coast art and material culture in the world. The treatments will address both the structural instability and surfaces of these intricate organic objects. Supports for these large carvings will be strengthened; attached elements that have become loose, such as beaks and wings made from separate sections of wood, will be stabilized; and surfaces will be cleaned of accumulated dust and the consequences of heavy visitorship. Treatment will begin to safeguard this important collection for future generations of scientists, historians, artists, and the general public.

Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, NY
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $164,750

Contact: Ms. Nora Kennedy
Conservator
(212)650-2168; nora.kennedy@metmuseum.org

Project Title: "Gilman Collection Conservation Project"
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will conduct a detailed conservation survey of 7,500 photographs in the Gilman Collection of photography. With exceptional examples of 19th-century French, British, and American photographs, as well as stunning examples from the turn-of-the-century and modernist periods, this collection has played a central role in establishing photography’s historical canon and has long set the standard for connoisseurship in the field. The project will allow for each photograph to be examined, documented for its current condition, and assessed for future conservation treatment or analysis; housed in a manner that allows for safe handling by museum curators, photographers, and technicians; and undergo treatment, if needed, to address any conditions that might be exacerbated by handling. This project will allow the museum to share these seminal works of art with its community.

Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester - Rochester, NY
Award Amount: $56,500; Matching Amount: $57,490

Contact: Ms. Nancy Norwood
Curator of European Art
(585)276-8979; nnorwood@mag.rochester.edu

Project Title: "Conservation of Renaissance Tapestry "Trellised Garden with Animals""
The Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester will conserve the most important Renaissance tapestry in its permanent collection, Trellised Garden with Animals. This tapestry, made around 1565–1575 in the Brussels workshop of Wilhelm de Pannemaker, is in fragile condition and cannot be exhibited in its present state. The project comprises treatment, research, publication-grade photography, and preparation of materials for use by the education department. After conservation, Trellised Garden with Animals will be installed on rotation as one of the highlights of the Renaissance gallery for which it was purchased in 1931.

Staten Island Institute of Arts and Science - Staten Island, NY
Award Amount: $102,023; Matching Amount: $103,622

Contact: Ms. Diane Matyas
Director of Public Programs and Exhibitions
(718)727-1135x107; dmatyas@statenislandmuseum.org

Project Title: "Opening the Treasure Box: General Conservation Survey for the Staten Island Museum"
The Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences will conduct a general conservation survey of its facilities and encyclopedic collections. The survey, which is designed to complement the concurrent design development phase of a major expansion initiative, will systematically review the museum’s storage and exhibition facilities and diverse collections. The survey will allow the museum to prioritize its present and future preservation needs and provide the foundation for future long-range plans to assist the museum with stewardship for its community.

North Carolina

Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill, NC
Award Amount: $115,500; Matching Amount: $140,621

Contact: Ms. Evelyn Koehnline
Conservator
(919)966-5736; koehnlin@email.unc.edu

Project Title: "Conservation Treatment of Asian Paintings"
The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will treat 16 Asian paintings in scroll and folding-screen formats. The Ackland’s collection of Asian paintings is one of the finest in the Southeast, and the paintings chosen for this project are among the most significant in the collection. Each painting is in fragile condition and is at risk every time a scroll is unrolled or a screen is unfolded. Treatment will allow the museum to share these paintings with its community through exhibitions and programs.

Ohio

Zoological Society of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $266,726

Contact: Ms. Valerie Pence
Director of Plan Research
(513)569-8228; valerie.pence@cincinnatizoo.org.

Project Title: "Improving the Ex Situ Conservation of tissues of Five Endangered Species Held at CREW"
The Zoological Society of Cincinnati will improve the long-term storage environment of 201 genetically unique tissue samples of five endangered plant species maintained as culture lines for propagating plants for conservation projects. This project will cryogenically preserve these tissues in liquid nitrogen for storage in the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife Frozen Garden. This will provide an alternative to seed banking and maintain these unique tissue lines as a back-up for endangered plants in the wild. This project will also support improvements in the data system for the Frozen Garden, which will make tracking and reporting on the collection easier and more efficient.

Massillon Museum - Massillon, OH
Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $949,102

Contact: Ms. Christine Shearer
Director
(330)833-4061; cshearer@massillonmuseum.org

Project Title: "Massillon Museum Collections Storage and Environmental Improvement Project"
The Massillon Museum will purchase storage equipment such as cabinets, pallets, and shelving in which to safely house its varied collections and alleviate overcrowding. Highlights of the collection include a collection of glass plate negatives and original photographic prints representing local Ohio Canal history; Medieval Forest, an oil painting by Ralph Albert Blakelock; and an 1864 letter addressed to a Methodist minister of Massillon and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. These shelving units, part of a larger process to overhaul the museum’s entire collections storage, will allow the museum to better protect and share its collections with the community.

Toledo Museum of Art - Toledo, OH
Award Amount: $10,000; Matching Amount: $12,038

Contact: Ms. Suzanne Hargrove
Conservator
(419)254-5771x7460; shargrove@toledomuseum.org

Project Title: "General Conservation Survey for the Museum collection and archives"
The Toledo Museum of Art will complete a general conservation survey of its art and archive collections. Highlights of this varied collection include the new outdoor sculpture garden, the world-renowned Glass Pavilion, a collection of more than 30,000 works of art, and ever-growing archives. Results of the survey will provide information to implement the first museum-wide conservation plan, using a holistic assessment of conservation activity to inform museum staff of what measures need to be taken to streamline management and conservation efforts.

Pennsylvania

James A. Michener Art Museum - Doylestown, PA
Award Amount: $68,059; Matching Amount: $69,960

Contact: Ms. Constance Kimmerle
Curator of Collections
(215)340-9800x116; ckimmerle@michenerartmuseum.org

Project Title: "James A. Michener Art Museum Storage Upgrade Project"
The James A. Michener Art Museum will purchase additional sliding art racks, shelving units, flat files, and upgraded housing enclosures for its collection of photographs and select works on paper to be relocated in an adjoining climate-controlled storage space with security and fire detection and suppression systems. When rehousing is complete, the museum will host a workshop on the care and handling of photographs, which will include a tour of the new storage facilities, for area museum professionals.

University of Pennsylvania Museum - Philadelphia, PA
Award Amount: $71,934; Matching Amount: $76,686

Contact: Mr. Alessandro Pezzati
Senior Archivist
(215)898-8304; apezzati@sas.upenn.edu

Project Title: "Conservation of M. Louise Baker Water Colors and Drawings"
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will conserve and house an important collection of watercolors and pen-and-ink drawings by M. Louise Baker, who was employed as museum artist at the Penn Museum from 1908 to 1936. This collection includes 154 illustrations of Maya pottery and 41 select artworks. It presents remarkable documentation of the history of scientific illustration and exhibits extraordinary artistic merit. Once conserved, these illustrations will serve as a unique resource for archaeologists, historians, and art historians, and offer the general public a glimpse into the world of archaeological research and exploration in the early years of the 20th century.

La Salle University - Philadelphia, PA
Award Amount: $16,500; Matching Amount: $24,142

Contact: Ms. Carmen Vendelin
Assistant Curator of Art
(215)951-1825; vendelin@lasalle.edu

Project Title: "Detailed Conservation Survey of Painting, Drawing, and Watercolors at the La Salle University Art Museum"
The La Salle University Art Museum will hire two conservators to conduct a detailed conservation survey of 79 artworks that have been identified as high priority. Highlights of this group include Landscape with Pilgrims at a Grotto (1620) by important Flemish landscape painter Joos de Momper; the Surrealist painting Temptation of Saint Anthony (1945–46) by Dorothea Tanning; Study for Portrait of Neil Welliver (1964) by American figurative Pop artist Alex Katz; and studies by Benjamin West, the first American painter to be widely respected in Europe. This survey will specify the condition concerns and identify needed treatment for the artworks, providing the Museum Advisory Board and staff with information to help prioritize conservation needs so that these works can continue to serve as an educational resource and source of enjoyment for the La Salle community and the general public.

South Dakota

Mammoth Site of Hot Springs - Hot Springs, SD
Award Amount: $45,519; Matching Amount: $45,523

Contact: Mr. Joseph Muller
Business Manager
(605)745-6017; joem@mammothsite.com

Project Title: "Installation of a Humidity Control System to Regulate Relative Humidity in the In-Situ Bonebed of the Mammoth Site of the Hot Springs South Dakota"
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs will purchase and install a humidity control system for the site enclosure. The museum is built over a Pleistocene sinkhole and preserves the remains of numerous animals that wandered the South Dakota landscape about 27,000 years ago. Since 1974, 55 Columbian mammoths and three wooly mammoths have been uncovered, the highest concentration of in-situ mammoths in the world. The building enclosing the bone bed protects the bones, tusks, and other specimens from the elements so they can remain where they were discovered and continue to inspire wonder in visitors and researchers alike.

Texas

El Paso Museum of History - El Paso, TX
Award Amount: $5,675; Matching Amount: $5,895

Contact: Ms. Barbara Angus
Museum Curator
(915)858-1928; AngusBX@elpasotexas.gov

Project Title: "President Porfirio Diaz Portrait"
The El Paso Museum of History will conserve a portrait of Mexican President Porfirio Díaz that was completed by artist José Becerra on March 7, 1910. The painting needs surface cleaning to remove grime, discolored varnish, and small amounts of overpainting. This painting is an important part of the museum’s collection, and has historical connections to the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - Houston, TX
Award Amount: $110,666; Matching Amount: $141,072

Contact: Wynne Phelan
Conservator
(713)639-7736; wphelan@mfah.org

Project Title: "Detailed Conservation Survey of the Modern & Contemporary Collection"
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will conduct a detailed condition survey of approximately 175 works of art dating from the 20th and 21st centuries. The primary objectives of the project are to examine, assess, and develop a condition report for each work of art. The results of the survey will determine treatment priorities and appropriate collection housing and storage, as well as other collection care recommendations such as installation procedures and transit safety. In addition, the survey will help the museum design new facilities for exhibition and storage, plan for future exhibitions, and develop appropriate facilities and programs for a new museum building devoted to modern and contemporary art.

Vermont

Shelburne Museum - Shelburne, VT
Award Amount: $61,665; Matching Amount: $63,790

Contact: Mr. Richard Kerschner
Director of Preservation and Conservation
(802)985-3348x3361; rkerschner@shelburnemuseum.org

Project Title: "Paintings Conservation at Shelburne Museum"
The Shelburne Museum will examine and treat 19 paintings in its permanent collection. The examinations will allow the museum to learn more about the painting techniques and practices of important artists represented in the collection. Treatment will include cleaning and thinning or removal of deteriorating, discolored, and distorting varnishes, and consolidation of flaking or tenting paint. These treatments will recover as nearly as possible the artist’s original intent for visitors to appreciate and enjoy.

Virginia

Maymont Mansion - Richmond, VA
Award Amount: $27,900; Matching Amount: $27,948

Contact: Ms. Dale Wheary
Director of Historical Collections & Programs
(804)358-7166x331; dwheary@maymont.org

Project Title: "Maymont Museum Environmental Survey"
The Maymont Foundation will hire a team of experienced professionals to gather and analyze data from the Maymont Mansion’s climate control system during a yearlong control period. The consultants will assess site conditions, interview the museum staff, and analyze the accumulated data in order to provide specific recommendations for an enhanced environmental system and sustainable improvements that will balance the preservation of the historic structure and the museum collections. The project will allow the museum to continue to share the fascinating story of a wealthy family and their staff in the early 20th century and show the dynamic interplay between working class and upper class and between black and white in the Gilded Age.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee Public Museum - Milwaukee, WI
Award Amount: $113,979; Matching Amount: $150,659

Contact: Ms. Christine Del Re
Senior Conservator
(414)278-2780; delre@mpm.edu

Project Title: "Decontamination and Preservation of MPM's Dietz Typewriter Collection"
The Milwaukee Public Museum will preserve the Carl P. Dietz Typewriter and Business Machine Collection, the largest such collection in the United States, with some 900 typewriters and 200 to 300 other business machines. The project team will clean each machine, removing it from its current location and creating a space for researchers and collectors to access the collection, and provide an automated database with digital images for curatorial and scholarly use and Web resources for the general public. This collection will allow visitors and researchers to explore the development of business productivity in the United States.