If you like comparing “before and after” images or the Big Reveal at the end of a home makeover reality show, you won’t want to miss the sneak-peek debut of two reupholstered and conserved, 19th-century American sofas at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on Thursday, May 1.
A Neoclassical sofa and a Renaissance Revival settee have gone from grungy to glamorous thanks to a Conservation Project Support Grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). For many years, the pieces’ condition prevented their exhibition, but soon they will be displayed in the reinstalled galleries of the American collections, opening Spring 2009.
The first part of the program is a conservation workshop. Conservator Robert Mussey of Robert Mussey Associates of Boston, will join Museum curator Catherine Futter and conservator Joe Rogers as they present art historical background on the pieces and how they were conserved.
Later that evening, enjoy a lecture by Peter Kenny, American Decorative Arts Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as he places the Nelson-Atkins’ sofa and settee in the context of Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival furniture of 19th-century America and the thriving furniture manufacturing industry in New York City.
Submitted by Elizabeth Williams, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts.