After months of preparation and planning, including the safe removal and relocation of all furniture and furnishings from the Parlor, conservators have officially begun work on the room’s walls and ceilings.
After a detailed surface cleaning, conservators are now in the process of re-adhering flaking and damaged paint and gold leaf. Once this step is completed, they will then remove disfiguring soot and grime that has been accumulating over the last 160 years, much of it from the Mansion’s original coal furnace.
Though the methodology is very similar to the recent project in the Reception Suite, finding space within the house for the Parlor’s furnishings, (including the massive canvas painting, Jacob’s Dream by Luther Terry), has proven to be the most challenging undertaking of the project thus far. All furnishings have remained in the house as opposed to off-site storage, which is preferred as these fragile items have been acclimatized to the Mansion’s conditions over many decades. Conservator Siobhan Lindsay postulates the preparation of this project is “probably the biggest upheaval within the Mansion
since the last of the Libby family moved out in 1929.”
Look for the magnificent pieces from the Parlor ‘guest starring’ in other rooms of the house when you visit and stay tuned for updates on this latest transformative project on the News page of our website.