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 be one in the same today, it wasn’t always so– particularly in ancient times. And as much of the Mansion’s decoration harkens back to the ancient word, it often commands an ancient unpacking.
For the first time in Mansion’s history, there are two major interior conservation projects happening concurrently. In the Reception Room, conservators have completed the conservation of the magnificent gasolier (originally a gas-powered lighting fixture), which will be reinstalled in the room in the coming weeks. Planning continues to restore the…
We are pleased to report the Mansion enjoyed a very healthy 2018-2019 holiday season overall. Evening events Night of the Nutcracker and A Taste & Tipple with Mr. Dickens enjoyed sold-out crowds and over 360 people visited the Mansion for the First Friday Art Walk on December 7 alone. We ended the…
The Mansion is teaming up with our friends at Portland Stage to offer a $5 discount* exclusively for Victoria Mansion members to the January 31st performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. The night will include a pre-show reception at 6:30 with VM Executive Director Tom Johnson and Portland Stage’s Artistic Director,…
Ruggles and Olive Morse foretold the future of archaeology in featuring the myth of Leda and the swan in their Dressing Room, adjacent to a Bathroom styled after the frescoes at Pompeii on the second floor of the Mansion. Queen Leda’s ravishment by the god Zeus, in the…
The Mansion’s 2018 Christmas Gala on November 28 was a record breaker! We welcomed over 200 members and friends and raised over $17,000 in ticket sales for the Mansion’s educational programming and conservation initiatives. Guests enjoyed musical stylings by Jazz singer Viva, great hors d’oeuvres courtesy of the Cumberland Club, signature drinks…
Over the years, Victoria Mansion has been presented with a number of objects that, while not original to the house, are typical of what upper-class Victorian families in Portland such as the Morses and the Libbys might have used to accent their interiors. Usually kept in storage and…
The Mansion has been popular fodder as of late! The release of the major motion picture Buttons, with Dick Van Dyke, Angela Landsbury, Jane Seymour and many other famous faces featuring the Mansion’s interiors brought us some great publicity. Buttons director Tim Janis stopped by WCSH’s show 207 to talk…
We are so pleased to announce Victoria Mansion recently received a $132,050 matching grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant program to finance in part the conservation of the original decoration of the Parlor. This funding will allow conservators to remove over 150…