The Restoration of the Drawing Room Sofa

We want to thank former intern and employee Andrea Monteleone for authoring this blog post.  Andrea has a BA in History from Marist College and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in history at Binghamton University.  

Have you ever strolled through a historic house and found your gaze lingering upon the textiles on display? Our eyes are easily drawn to the intricate patterns, colors, and textures offered by decorative fabrics. You might notice drapes framing windows, and how their colors often enhance the design and feeling of a room, without distracting from the view out of the window. Perhaps the walls of a room are completely covered in fabric. A glance around at these large cuts of fabric may instill a sense of comfort and warmth, or conversely, intimidation and formality. Maybe your attention is drawn to a piece of furniture, such as an upholstered chair or sofa, and you find yourself wanting to know if it is comfortable to sit on. Design historian Margaret Ponsonby has remarked, “Focusing on textiles provides a medium for understanding the meanings that interiors had for their inhabitants in the past and enriches our experience of history in the present.”[1] Indeed, textiles offer present-day staff and visitors to historic houses clues into interior design decisions and how spaces functioned. This often helps us better understand people and cultures of a different time. 

Take, for example, an upholstered sofa like this one:

Chesterfield-style sofa, 2018

Preventative Conservation Workshop 2018: Part II - Gilded Age Fire Suppression

During June 2018, aspiring conservators from around the country attended a 2 week intensive preventative conservation workshop at Staatsburgh.  This was the third year that the workshop was held at Staatsburgh with sponsorship from The Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation along with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The workshop taught in-depth methods of caring for many different types of collections. Participants gained insight into artifact conservation and the conditions that cause deterioration. After the workshop, several of the participants wrote blog entries about their experience and a specific aspect of the workshop.

Independent Conservator Cathy MacKenzie organized this workshop to occur at Staatsburgh collaborating on its organization with NYS Bureau of Historic Sites Furniture Conservator, David Bayne.  Several conservators participated in the workshop's instruction including  Kirsten Schoonmaker from Syracuse University, Valentine Talland formerly of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Michelle Cornelison Smith, the Assistant Paper & Book Conservator at SF Art Conservation in Oakland, CA.

Part II in this series was written by Andrew Foster who is currently a Conservation Technician at Maymont Mansion in Richmond, Virginia. Andrew has a B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking as well as a B.S. in Anthropology from the Virginia Commonweath University. He has previously worked at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Blog Author Andrew Foster moves furniture during the workshop. 

Preventative Conservation Workshop 2017 Part III:Clocks of Staatsburgh

During June 2017, aspiring conservators from around the country attended a 2 week intensive preventative conservation workshop at Staatsburgh.  This was the second year that the workshop was held at Staatsburgh with sponsorship from The Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation along with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The workshop taught in-depth methods of caring for many different types of collections. Participants gained insight into artifact conservation and the conditions that cause deterioration. After the workshop, several of the participants wrote blog entries about their experience and a specific aspect of the workshop.

NYS Bureau of Historic Sites Furniture Conservator, David Bayne, organized this workshop to occur at Staatsburgh collaborating on its organization with Independent Conservator Cathy MacKenzie.  Several conservators participated in the workshop's instruction including  Kirsten Schoonmaker from the Shelburne Museum, Valentine Talland formerly from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Michelle Smith, most recently at the National Library of France.

Part III in this series was written by Aubrey Skye Quasney, an artist, historian, and aspiring conservator from Pasadena, Maryland. In 2013, she graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Art History and Painting. Since then she has interned at the Walters Art Museum assisting with the curation and conservation of Islamic Arts for the traveling exhibition, Pearls on a String. Currently, she is museum director of the System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley, Maryland where she oversees the curating, restoration, and collection management. As an artist, she likes to bring creativity to all that she does, from painting portraits to finding new ways to present artifacts within museum collections. She is passionate about our collective histories and preserving them for the future through restoration, photography, and writing. She continues to work towards becoming a conservator of objects, with a specific interest in clock and watch restoration.

AIC Workshop Participant and Blog Author Aubrey Quasney

Preventative Conservation Workshop 2017 Part II: Exploring the Library

During June 2017, aspiring conservators from around the country attended a 2 week intensive preventative conservation workshop at Staatsburgh.  This was the second year that the workshop was held at Staatsburgh with sponsorship from The Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation along with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The workshop taught in-depth methods of caring for many different types of collections. Participants gained insight into artifact conservation and the conditions that cause deterioration. After the workshop, several of the participants wrote blog entries about their experience and a specific aspect of the workshop.

NYS Bureau of Historic Sites Furniture Conservator, David Bayne, organized this workshop to occur at Staatsburgh collaborating on its organization with Independent Conservator Cathy MacKenzie.  Several conservators participated in the workshop's instruction including  Kirsten Schoonmaker from the Shelburne Museum, Valentine Talland formerly from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Michelle Smith who is currently spending the summer at the National Library of France.

Part II of the series was written by NYU graduate Natasha Kung.  Natasha was born and raised in New York and graduated from New York University in 2016 with degrees in Art History and Chemistry. She has gained pre-program conservation experience at the Museum of Modern Art, with Central Park Conservancy, and with several private conservators. She is currently interning in the Department of Photograph Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the Conservation Department at the Brooklyn Museum. She expresses interest in specializing in objects, but is also fascinated by photo chemistry and materials science.

AIC Workshop participant and blog author Natasha Kung

Preventative Conservation Workshop 2017 Part I: Outdoor Marble Sculpture

During June 2017, aspiring conservators from around the country attended a 2 week intensive preventative conservation workshop at Staatsburgh.  This was the second year that the workshop was held at Staatsburgh with sponsorship from The Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation along with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The workshop taught in-depth methods of caring for many different types of collections. Participants gained insight into artifact conservation and the conditions that cause deterioration. After the workshop, several of the participants wrote blog entries about their experience and a specific aspect of the workshop.

NYS Bureau of Historic Sites Furniture Conservator, David Bayne, organized this workshop to occur at Staatsburgh collaborating on its organization with Independent Conservator Cathy MacKenzie.  Several conservators participated in the workshop's instruction including  Kirsten Schoonmaker from the Shelburne Museum, Valentine Talland formerly from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Michelle Smith currently spending the summer at the National Library of France.

Part I in this series of blogs is by Ruthie Rolfsmeyer.  Ruthie is a conservation technician who has been contracted to work with concrete and wooden sculpture folk art environments in Maine, Georgia, and Wisconsin. She has also done conservation work on indoor murals in Idaho and Minnesota. Her degree is in Fine Art and Graphic Design with a minor in Art History, and she is continuing her education through courses in chemistry and Italian.

Workshop participant and blog author, Ruthie Rolfsmeyer

Collections Care Workshop Part I Visitor Perception of Age in Historic Sites: In Defense of the Wrinkles and Face-lifts Alike

During June 2016, aspiring conservators from around the country attended a 2 week intensive workshop at Staatsburgh.  "Housekeeping for Conservators", sponsored by The Foundation for the American Institute for Conservation along with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities taught in-depth methods of caring for many different types of collections. Participants gained insight into artifact conservation and the conditions that cause deterioration. After the workshop, several of the participants wrote blog entries about their experience and a specific aspect of the workshop.

NYS Bureau of Historic Sites Furniture Conservator, David Bayne, organized this workshop to occur at Staatsburgh collaborating on its organization with Independent Conservator Cathy MacKenzie and Kirsten Schoonmaker from the Shelburne Museum.  Several conservation experts also participated in the workshop's instruction including John Childs from the Peabody Essex Museum, Genevieve Bieniosek from the Biltmore, and Catherine Coueignoux London of Oak Street Conservation.

The author of our first post, Courtney Books, is an artist and art historian with experience in historic preservation.  She received a B.S. in Fine Arts and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin and a Master's in Art History from McGill University.  She is currently an assistant at Parma Conservation in Chicago.  Her love of painting, architecture, and travel drive her aspirations to specialize in mural conservation.

Workshop participant and blog author Courtney Books

An Aerial View of the Mansion

It is not very often that we are able to see the mansion from above, which is why it was exciting that we recently took some unique aerial photos.  During recent work on the mansion’s façade, we found someone on staff with no fear of heights to go up on the lift and take aerial shots of the building, with the Hudson in the background.  This view really allows you to see the work that was done on the mansion since 2013.  The white front portico glistens and the copper on the new roof shines.  You can see the new portico whenever you approach the mansion, but the new roof is a little harder to showcase!

Enjoy this series of photos!

The Portico Project, Part I - History

Now that 2014 is nearing the end, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on one of the great changes at Staatsburgh this year.  Our east portico was completely restored and the beautiful white facade gleams as you approach the mansion.  The planning stages were in motion many years earlier, and work on the portico began in September 2012 with $4.2 million in funds that Govenor Cuomo allotted as part of NY Works projects.  The funds also helped restore the mansion's roof and the estate wall; both of which were completed in 2013.

Staatsburgh's Restored Portico, Summer 2014

This post is the first in a series about Staatsburgh's portico, which was designed by Stanford White and provides an awe-inspiring first impression to all who approach the house.  Since the portico is such a keystone of Staatsburgh, these posts will provide the architectural and historical context to better understand the significance of the project.  This series will explore the history and importance of the portico to the house and some of the work done on the recent restoration.