The National Museum of Racing’s new exhibit, Preserving our Past, is
open in the von Stade Gallery. Featuring several paintings and trophies from the
permanent collection, the exhibit, staged by Museum Curator of Collections Beth
Sheffer, will run until December 31.
All the pieces in the Preserving our Past exhibit are in need of conservation
work and due to their condition many of them have not been on display in years.
The exhibit explains what is required to restore the pieces and invites visitors
to help sponsor the work.
Art created by Edward Troye, Henry Stull, and Martin Stainforth are
represented in the collection. The exhibit features portraits of horse owner and
breeder James Ben Ali Haggin, Hall of Fame jockey Frank “Dooley” Adams, American
Eclipse, Swaps, Reigh Count, and Iroquois, the first horse bred in America to
win the Epsom Derby.
“I have been thinking about an exhibit like this since I went to the American
Association of Museums conference in Boston in 2006,” Sheffer said. “In one of
the seminars, staff members from an institution in Maine discussed how while
searching for a way to fundraise for collections care they decided to actually
show the pieces in need of conservation. Each label included an estimate of the
cost of the work needed to be done on that piece. Visitors will have the
opportunity to donate money toward the restoration of individual objects on
display.
“A portion of the money collected went into developing a collections care
fund for future conservation needs. They said the exhibit was a success and I
thought that concept would be well received here.”
Sheffer said the exhibit is a great opportunity to educate Museum visitors on
the importance of preserving these treasures and to provide them with more
information about conservation issues. A handout featuring a glossary of common
terms concerning conservation of works on canvas, paper, and metals will be
available to visitors, along with literature on how one may contribute to the
care of the Museum collection.
Key to the development of the exhibit was the work of Susan Blakney of
Westlake Conservators and Roger Jette of RO Jette Antique Restoration, who
examined the items Sheffer selected and provided estimates.
“I chose pieces with varying degrees of deterioration or damage, showing a
broad range of common conservation issues,” Sheffer said. “Tears in the canvas,
loss of paint, cracked frames, bent or broken metal are among the examples being
exhibited.”
Blakney and an associate spent a day in the gallery examining 17 paintings
that Sheffer had selected.
“We gather the information and we’re going to go right home and write a
summary of condition with recommendations of what could be done, minimally and
maybe more major,” Blakney said. “There’s always a couple of options in treating
something and it really depends on the curatorial decision as to whether to go
for a complete treatment or not. Sometimes it’s budget-driven. There are a few
paintings that we examined that have had poor treatment and reversing poor
treatment is the most expensive job we ever do. We have to undo the last
treatment, remove all the materials and put it all back together again. In some
instances it’s worth it. Sometimes it’s not.”
Blakney said the exhibit is an effective way for visitors to become directly
involved with saving important pieces.
“It’s a fabulous idea because right now the nation’s collections are in
crisis,” she said. “There will never be enough money — unless the public jumps
on board — to care for our collections. We’re losing them faster than we’re
saving them. And our young conservators can’t find jobs because museums have
been laying off conservators. It’s too bad because the need is there, but there
just isn’t the money right now to pay for the tasks that need to be done.
“There is a call to action nation-wide to save our nation’s patrimony and
that means that we need the public’s support. It’s fun, really. It’s like a
treasure hunt to be involved. We’ve done this before, where you could sponsor
the treatment of a painting. It’s been successful in many other museums.”
The popular Ride On! exhibit about equine medicine has reopened to the public
in the McBean Gallery, and it has undergone some changes since last year. The
majority of the Barbaro artifacts that were on display were sent to the Kentucky
Derby Museum for its exhibit Barbaro: the Heart of a Winner, which opened in
conjunction with the dedication of the Barbaro sculpture.
Many new objects have been added to the exhibit, including several more
trophies won by Hall of Famer Sunday Silence. This is the 20th anniversary of
the colt’s victories in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) and the
gripping rivalry during that Triple Crown series with another future Hall of
Fame member, Easy Goer.
Other items new to Ride On! in 2009 include additional specially made
horseshoes and boots for treating laminitis, a horse hoof plastinated slice
model, an antique cautery set, dental floats, and an antique microscope.
Special thanks to Upstate Equine Medical Center in Schuylerville, New York
for lending the antique veterinary tools as well as a set of modern surgical
tools. Equipment in that loan from Upstate Equine includes a compression plate
and screws, as well at three samples of enteroliths. An enterolith is a mineral
accumulation that forms in the colon around a foreign object such as a small
rock, piece of metal or piece of wood.
The exhibits are open during the Museum’s regular hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(EDT) Monday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The Museum is open 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the racing season.