Thursday, November 7, 2019 at the George Peabody Library of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD
Reception from 5:00-6:00pm in the gallery
Introduction to Fall Exhibition: 5:30pm
Presentation from 6:00pm-7:00pm in the library
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, located in the Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania, was completed in 1937 and is one of the most recognized buildings in the United States. Tours of the house and grounds bring in upwards of 420,000 visitors per year. In the early 1960’s the property was turned over to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy by Edgar Kaufman, Jr., son of the Pittsburgh department store Kaufman’s who had commissioned Wright to design and build Fallingwater as their country house.
While the staff has attended to the house and grounds well over the decades, emphasis on caring for the buildings was paramount. Recently, professional care of the collections has been given more attention. Conservators were brought in to assess collections and provide conservation services for paintings, decorative arts and sculpture. In 2017 Connie Stromberg was asked to assess 13 mostly outdoor sculptures and in 2018 made two trips there with Howard Wellman and one with Diane Fullick to work on several of these pieces. This presentation will give an overview of condition issues and the challenges of maintaining a historic house that has high visitor volume and is built over a river within the natural environment. A few of the sculpture treatments will be highlighted.
Join us at the reception for an introduction of the fall exhibition, City People: Black Baltimore in the Photographs of John Clark Mayden with the curator Paul Espinoza who will provide some background to the artist and outline the themes of the exhibit.
The main entrance to the Peabody Institute is 17 E. Mount Vernon Place. The gallery and library are immediately to your left as you enter, and there is no need to show ID to gain entrance to these spaces.
For directions by public transport and personal vehicle, please visit the Peabody webpage: https://peabody.jhu.edu/visit-peabody
And while you’re in Baltimore, the Walters Art Museum, located just across the street, is free and open late on Thursday nights until 9 pm.
This event is free to WCG members, $10 for guests & non-members. Memberships are $35 for professionals and $25 for students. WCG recently celebrated 50 years of supporting and promoting art conservation in both the DC metro area and worldwide. Membership contributions go toward supporting our next 50 years of programming and advocacy.
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @DCconservators. Our meetings are public and pictures of the meeting may appear on WCG’s website and social media accounts.
