After a thorough dry-cleaning of the room's walls and ceiling, (as much of the painted decoration is water-based), the next phase of the major conservation project in the Mansion's Parlor looms near: the application of a protective barrier varnish on the original 1860's paint to protect and preserve it for decades to come. Once this [...]
Nineteenth-century American artists looked to Europe as the omphalos of culture. The painters flocked to Paris, while the sculptors migrated to Florence and Rome, where they could obtain the marble, the mentors, and the ancient models they required to fashion their neo-classical compositions. These expatriate artists chose “’ideal’ subjects—themes from literature, mythology, [...]
The very first delivery of cargo by air to Portland, Maine in July of 1926 included some unexpected freight: a shipment of high-end dresses from New York City for the J.R. Libby Department Store. Though the store's founder and namesake-- and second owner of the Mansion-- J.R. Libby had passed away in 1917, his son [...]
While our doors may be closed to the public, we are opening the Mansion up to local schools who are taking part in our A Century of Change school curriculum. Elementary schools from around Cumberland County have the opportunity to select from 8 lessons that look at the changes over time that created the world we now [...]
