John and Josephine Bowes built the Bowes Museum to allow the pubic to view their wide-ranging collection. Although at first glance it appears to be a French Chateau with a Mansard roof, it was never built to house anything other than the collection it currently holds. The couple collected over 40,000 objects, many with the public in mind. Therefore, many different periods and types of objects are represented, and each example is not always the best of its type. We met with several of the different curators, or “keepers” as they are called. Here is a brief description of what they talked about.
Picture Stores
We started high up in the museum, on the first floor located inside the dome (there are four, added during the major renovation that took place last year). This is where the main Picture Store is, a marvel in design that currently holds 1,200 paintings and 10,000 works on paper. One floor up from the main Picture Store is a secondary storage option, meant for the works on paper and paintings small enough to be placed on the lift. Here we met with Emma, the Keeper of Fine Art. We talked about their current projects, which include reuniting paintings with their original frames, making new tags that allow paintings to be identified with more ease, and imputing information about a painting into a searchable database. In the future they hope to include the stores in their public tours, but for now they are open to researchers and the curatorial staff.
Archeological Objects
We headed to the gatehouse to speak with Community Curator Samantha Belcher, who is currently funded through a grant from the MLA (Museums Libraries and Archives Council). There is no place to display the archaeology in the museum at the moment, so it is all housed in the gatehouse. Samantha and her intern, along with the help of volunteers, are currently trying to inventory the collection. The provenance of many of the objects is unknown, as Josephine may have bought many of these items in lots in France, with their original location lost along the way. Her other main purpose is to work with the community, even bringing objects out to various events for the public to view (and occasionally handle).
Library and Archives
The library is located up at the very top of the dome (the highest point in the museum and one of the spaces renovated last year). The views are spectacular. Most of the books are from John and Josephine’s original collection, although they continue to add new books through donation and purchase. The Archives were one floor down, in a strong room, along with books printed before 1900, books purchased originally as objects, and the Bowes’s French library collection. Their Archives is divided into two main categories: Records from the Bowes, mostly during their time in France and including many of the bills of sale for the objects in the museum, and the records for the Bowes Museum itself. Unfortunately we were unable to see them, although quite a few of the finding aids were out on the shelves for review. (Access to the archives isn’t exactly restricted, we just didn’t have time.) Their goals for the future include taking their archives and catalog of books online.
Textiles
We also met with Joann, the Keeper of Textiles, who was recently in charge of designing and executing one of their newest exhibits involving their textile collection. The design of the exhibit was very forward thinking, as were their storage choices. One area of the exhibit room is a glass cube, with hundreds of shelves and a workspace inside. Eventually they will keep most of their textiles stored in this room, with easy access for both museum staff and for guided tours.
We ended the day by taking tea with Jane, the Principal Keeper, which means that she is in charge of the rest of the curatorial team.
The Bowes Museum, simply put, has a lot of stuff. With the exception of a few objects, including famous works by El Greco and Goya, and the Silver Swan, there is little here that you cannot see in other historic homes and museums. The majority of the items predate 1900 and concentrate on fine and decorate arts from Europe, and the current collection policy continues to reflect this date as a stopping point. There was quite a bit of interpretation panels and sheets, and at times this was completely overwhelming. The downstairs exhibition room, meant as an introduction to the museum, is quite disjointed; for example, a whole room is donated to children’s toys, although how this relates to the museums original or current mission is unclear. I am unsure what sets this museum above or apart from other historic homes turned museums, or other museums focusing only on art or furniture. I guess it is a question of quantity over quality, and while all of the objects are beautiful, very few truly stand out.
No comments:
Post a Comment