April 2024 Newsletter: Opening Weekend Textiles Exhibit & More
Our April 2024 newsletter is live! Follow the link to read about our Celebration of National Textiles Day, updates about the Preservation Trades Workshop, and a preview of 2024 events.
Archive for Blog
Victoria Mansion Newsletter Archive
Victoria Mansion sends out a monthly newsletter to our members and subscribers, with updates on conservation and restoration projects, educational programs, research initiatives, upcoming events, and more. Read on at the links below to catch up on the past year of newsletters, and subscribe any time to stay…
Victoria Mansion Names New Executive Director, Timothy Brosnihan
Victoria Mansion, a National Historic Landmark, has named Timothy Brosnihan as its new Executive Director. After a six-month search in the US and Canada, the Search Committee announced that the position would go to Brosnihan, former Assistant Director of the museum. Board member Sue Sturtevant chaired the Search…
A Century of Change: School Tours in the Off-Season
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…
Behind the Image: Mr. Libby’s Special Delivery
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…
Sugar and Spice, and All That’s Nice: ‘Reproof’, by Edward Russell Thaxter
Nineteenth-century American artists looked to Europe as the center 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, and history,” as most worthy of their endeavors. Their studios were destinations for Americans on the Grand Tour, and often they made multiple versions of a piece to sell.