Off-Season Updates: Historic Preservation & More | |
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Victoria Mansion is closed for the season and will re-open on May 1, 2024.
Tickets for the regular season will go on sale in early April.
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In this newsletter:
- Conservation & Restoration Updates
- Help Us Reach Our Annual Fund Goal!
- Preservation Trades Training Workshop
- 2024 Programs & Events Preview (Save the Date for National Textiles Day in May!)
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Conservation & Restoration Updates | Tony Castro restores the graining on the Parlor side of the Stair Hall wainscoting. | Victoria Mansion's off-season has thus far seen a whirlwind of conservation and restoration projects as we prepare for our 2024 regular season. In early February, artist and paint conservator Tony Castro returned to the Mansion to continue his restoration of the faux wood graining on the Stair Hall wainscoting. Tony's work began around this same time in 2023, when he completed restoration on the Dining Room side of the Stair Hall. His work restores the full wood graining effect that was part of the original painted design, some of which had been damaged or lost over time. A "window" showing an example of an un-restored area will be preserved at the back of the Stair Hall. All restoration at Victoria Mansion is carried out using reversible materials. | |
A section of the wainscoting that had lost its graining effect. This "before" image shows the damaged area with a base color in-fill. | |  |
The same section after graining has been partially restored. | | |
Textile Conservation Technician Vivian Cunningham cleans a Parlor tassel on the third floor balcony while Paintings Conservator Corrine Long cleans a section of the Stair Hall landing ceiling on the second floor. | |
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Conservators from the Gianfranco Pocobene Studio have also returned to begin cleaning and conserving the painted decoration on the Stair Hall landing. Bob and Sebastian Cariddi of R. Cariddi Fine Woodwork designed and installed purpose-built scaffolding for conservators to reach this loftier part of the house. Some surfaces on the landing show evidence of overpainting, which likely happened during the early museum period, while other areas appear to have been untouched - and possibly not cleaned - since 1860. Conservators will work from the ceiling down, focusing on public access bottlenecks before moving to other second floor Stair Hall surfaces for cleaning and conservation throughout the regular season.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant number MA-253203-OMS-23. Learn more and help us reach our matching goal for this project on our website!
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Bob and Sebastian Cariddi install scaffolding on the Stair Hall landing, early February 2024. Wooden boxes have been placed around the sculpted lighting fixtures, and protection has been fitted over the stained glass window. | | |
Finalized scaffolding installed by the Cariddis in early February 2024. Ramps have also been installed for ease of access. | | |
Paintings conservator Corrine Long cleans the Stair Hall landing ceiling, early February 2024. | | |
Conservation of Victoria Mansion's textile collection is also ongoing throughout the off-season. Conservation technician Vivian Cunningham is shown here cleaning original Parlor tassels for safe storage. | | | |
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Thanks to your contributions, we have reached over 78% of this year's Annual Fund goal - help us cross the finish line!
A gift of any size before March 31st will have a major impact on our ongoing projects, programming, and more.
Keeping the arts alive in our communities helps foster connections while enhancing our quality of life. Victoria Mansion is simultaneously a museum of art, architecture, and the decorative arts, as well as a site rich in social, economic, and political history, offering multiple pathways to connect to the issues of the day. As a nonprofit organization, Victoria Mansion depends on contributions from our community near and far to ensure the preservation of this National Historic Landmark for generations to come.
When you give to Victoria Mansion’s Annual Fund, your contribution directly supports the myriad efforts to conserve, maintain, restore, and share this National Historic Landmark with the public, from historic preservation to educational programming and beyond.
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John Leeke (left) and Edward Reilly (center) demonstrate historic woodcarving and window sash glazing, respectively, during Victoria Mansion's free one-day Preservation Trades Workshop in October 2023. | |
This spring, Victoria Mansion plans to host the first in a series of specialized training programs designed to help practicing tradespeople develop the knowledge and skills necessary to expand their careers into the historic preservation field. The initial pilot program will focus on the preservation of historic wood windows and offer two weeks of hands-on training. Trainees will gain experience in conditions assessment, diagnostics, traditional wood repairs, modern wood-epoxy repairs, glazing, and painting.
The April pilot program will be led by Portland preservation expert John Leeke, author of Save America’s Windows and a registered building assessor for the federal Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program. John was recently honored by Traditional Building Magazine as one of the industry’s “25 leaders who have dedicated their careers to the classical and traditional styles in myriad and outstanding ways that are serving as models around the country.”
Participation in the pilot project is limited to five trainees and is subject to a competitive application process. Notably, the five trainees will receive a weekly stipend, in recognition of the value of their labor, and to attract well-qualified professionals currently working in the building trades. For more information about the program and how to apply, please visit Victoria Mansion’s events page for details.
For years, preservationists have lamented the shortage of workers skilled in the special methods and techniques required to work sensitively on historic buildings. While this problem can’t be fixed overnight, we firmly believe that knowledge sharing will be part of the solution.
The pilot training will be the first of an annual series of preservation trades workshops designed to provide specialized training to expand the pool of skilled tradespeople qualified to work on historic properties. Victoria Mansion plans to offer these opportunities on an ongoing basis – expanding both the number of apprenticeships created, as well as the number of preservation specialties offered.
This two-week training program, aimed at practicing tradespeople interested in preserving historic wood windows, will begin on April 1, 2024. Applications are being accepted through March 8th, and applicants will be notified of their admission status by March 15th. Applicants who are not selected for this workshop will be added to a waiting list, and will be able to opt into communication about future training workshops and demonstrations.
If you have any questions about this program or future Preservation Trades Workshops, please contact Executive Director Tim Brosnihan at tbrosnihan@victoriamansion.org.
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Programs & Events Preview | |
Read on to learn about some of the events we have in the works for spring & summer 2024! Keep an eye on our Events page for tickets and more information about upcoming programs. | |
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Save the Date: National Textiles Day
First Weekend of May 2024
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Parlor tassel detail. Photo by Gail Dodge. | |
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Victoria Mansion is fortunate to have over 90% of the house's original furnishings, including samples of beautiful, intricate textiles from nearly every room. These delicate objects are usually housed in our climate-controlled textile storage room on the third floor of the museum and are rarely on public view.
Our community of Mansion members, supporters, and visitors frequently express interest and curiosity in the textiles, and this May, we're planning a special, limited exhibition of select objects!
National Textiles Day falls on May 3rd, which coincides with our 2024 regular season opening weekend. Stay tuned for more news about how we'll be celebrating with textiles from the Mansion's collection...
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The Reception Room in natural light during an open shutters tour. | |
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As we prepare for the opening of our 2024 regular season, we're also planning several events for our community of Mansion members.
Members not only enjoy discounted rates for our public events, but also receive invitations to exclusive events in gratitude for their generous support of our mission. These include Basement-to-Tower tours showing areas not on view during regular tours, collections spotlights, open-shutters events (rare glimpses of the Mansion in natural light, as it would have appeared during its occupancy), and many others.
With a calendar of exciting opportunities in the works, now is a great time to join as a member! Memberships start at $50 (or $30 for educators and university students).
Learn more about our Membership program and join any time on our website.
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Save the Date: Brownstone Brews & Bites 2024
Friday, July 12th | 5:30-8:30pm
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The crowd begins to gather for Brownstone Brews & Bites on the Mansion lawn, July 2023. | |
Celebrating our 18-year partnership with Allagash Brewing, our summer fundraiser Brownstone Brews & Bites returns to the Mansion lawn this summer!
Featuring Allagash beer, music by the Pete Kilpatrick Band, and food from Cheese Louise and other local providers, this annual fundraiser helps support our ongoing historic preservation projects, with a special eye on preserving the Mansion's iconic brownstone exterior. Special thanks to event sponsor Bird & Co!
More information will be available soon.
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We are looking for docents to join us in 2024!
For more information or to sign up, please email Stacia Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs at shanscom@victoriamansion.org.
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Members enjoy year-round free admission, discounts in the Museum Shop, and invitations to exclusive events. Become a member today to assist in our conservation efforts and receive the first news about upcoming Victoria Mansion events and programs. | |
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The Staff of Victoria Mansion
Timothy Brosnihan, Executive Director
Ann O'Hagan, Director of Development
Stacia Hanscom, Director of Education & Public Programs
Siobhan Lindsay, Conservator
Brittany Cook, Development & Communications Coordinator
Molly Kingsbury, Museum Shop Buyer & Merchandiser
Sue Flaherty, Visitor Services Coordinator
Michelle Josephson, Senior Site Manager
Sarah Coughlin, Scheduling Coordinator
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