Western culture began defining itself in contrast to the East as early as the Trojan War of Greek versus Persian. In the centuries to follow, as European civilization advanced, its soldiers, traders, adventurers, and artists increasingly perceived the East as a nostalgic counterpart to progress. Across much of the second millennium, Europe conceived of the [...]
In 2013, Victoria Mansion launched a school program for elementary school learners entitled A Century of Change. This program, allowing teachers to choose from 8 topics to tailor a lesson and visit for their students, has proven to be a successful model. We look to expand this programming, yet find the needs of middle and high [...]
With only a few short weeks left before the Mansion opens for the season May 1, conservators are busy prepping for the major conservation project in the Parlor. The room's gasolier and furniture have been removed and relocated elsewhere throughout the house, and the original carpet will soon be rolled and rehoused to make way [...]
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in servant life at the Mansion. Last fall, our Celtic Storytelling programming included traditional Irish tales that the house's servants might have delighted in around late October. This May, we look forward to opening a new space in the Mansion to include the house's employees in our interpretation. [...]
In 1846, the German-American history painter Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze created 'The Iconoclasts', a large oil canvas depicting 17th-century English Protestants destroying art works in a Catholic church. The painting was commissioned by James Robb, a banker and collector then living in New Orleans. During the financial panic of 1857, Robb sold his home and much [...]
The Mansion lost a very dear long-time friend and supporter in John J. Evans III (Jack), who passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on February 16. Originally from Lancaster, Pa., Jack attended the Lawrenceville School, where he met his future wife of 67 years, Noreen Blakely. Jack later graduated from Wesleyan University and the [...]
While strides are being made in our major projects, we also have smaller upkeep projects in the planning for the off-season. Last conserved and restored in the late 1980's, some may have noticed the tromp l'oeil decoration on the Dining Room ceiling has exhibited paint loss and flaking for some time. This month, conservation staff [...]
With the excitement of the Christmas season now behind us, Mansion staff shifts focus to the two major conservation projects in the Reception Room and the Parlor. One recent advancement was the re-installation of the Reception Room's gasolier (originally gas-powered lighting fixture), and the de-installation of the Parlor's. The Reception Room's remarkable 250 lb. gasolier, comprised of [...]
As part of a larger project to move and rehouse portions of the Mansion's archives, Director of Education Stacia Hanscom recently happened upon an article written around 1967 by Maine Historian and long-time friend and supporter of the Mansion, Earle Shettleworth Jr. The short article documents the reminiscence of Alice Libby Brown, the youngest daughter [...]
As we remove and rehouse the Parlor's schematic furniture and furnishings, those rotund, infantile figures adorning the room's walls and ceilings become all the more apparent. Most visitors to the Mansion immediately recognize all the room's figures as "cherubs"- those angelic, winged and usually haloed unearthly abettors to God. Though we know these figures to [...]
