News
Find out what’s going on at Victoria Mansion and learn more about the collection in these posts and by joining our mail and e-newsletter lists.
Featured Articles
A Letter from the Executive Director
Dear friends, If you have driven by Victoria Mansion recently, you know there are big things afoot. In fact, the scaffolding rising on the front lawn only hints at the scale of the work going on. Inside and outside, we are gearing up for a series of transformational restoration projects aimed at preserving this National Historic Landmark property and bringing it ever closer to its nineteenth-century appearance. Over the next six months, an expert team will completely disassemble a major section of the Mansion’s front façade, including the front bay window and its adjoining walls, while carefully protecting the precious interiors within. Using [...]
September 2024 Newsletter: Front Bay Restoration Updates & Intern Guest Column
Our September 2024 Newsletter is now live! Click the link to read about exciting Front Bay restoration news, a guest column from our 2024 summer intern, and more.
August Newsletters: Conservation and Notable Summer Visitors at Victoria Mansion
Our August 2024 newsletters are now live! In our early August newsletter, read about the exciting conservation and restoration projects that have been going on throughout summer 2024, including Stair Hall conservation, and brownstone bay restoration plans. In our August-September newsletter, read about our visit from Maine State Senator Jill Duson, as well as stories shared during a visit by Paul Dyson, grandson of Libby-era and early museum-era caretaker Woodbury Morrill.
July 2024 Newsletter: Victoria Mansion in the Community
Our July 2024 Newsletter is now live! Click the link to learn about our Juneteenth programming and other Victoria Mansion programs and outreach this summer.
June 2024 Newsletter: Reception Bay Restoration News and More
Our June 2024 Newsletter is now live! Click the link to read about our upcoming brownstone Reception Room Bay restoration, summer events, and more.
May 2024 Newsletter: A Celebration of National Textiles Day, Annual Report, and More
Our May 2024 Newsletter is now live! Click the link to read a recap of our opening weekend Celebration of National Textiles Day, our 81st Annual Meeting, and more.
Window Preservation Trades Training
In early April 2024, Victoria Mansion hosted the first in a series of paid preservation trades training, taught by preservationist John Leeke, author of Save America's Windows. The purpose of this training program, focused on window restoration, is to train practicing tradespeople in the special knowledge required to preserve older and historic wood windows. More information about this inaugural workshop is available in our 2023-24 Annual Report (read PDF online here). For years, preservationists have lamented the shortage of workers skilled in the special methods and techniques required to work sensitively on historic buildings. While this problem can’t be fixed overnight, [...]
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.
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 up to date on Mansion projects! Starting in April 2024, newsletters will be cross-posted to our VictoriaMansion.org news feed within a few days. March 2024: Featuring Historic Preservation Updates and a 2024 Events Preview February 2024: Featuring Paint Conservation News January 2024: Featuring a Holiday Season Wrap-Up, Domestic Servant Descendant Visit, [...]
Victoria Mansion Names New Executive Director
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 Committee, which included other board members Cynthia MacDonald, Sue Nutty, Drew Oestreicher and Kathie Propp, along with community members Randal Rucker and Mike Stone. They worked with Gail Nessell Colglazier, Principal, Executive Searches for Museums, and Hilary Robbins, Founder and Senior Strategy Consultant for Hilary Robbins Consulting, to find the best candidate [...]
Conservation of the Interior: Parlor Conservation Project Reaches New Milestone
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 synthetic barrier is applied, work to restore failing plaster and gilded elements, areas of paint loss and water damage (visible in the image to the right) begins in earnest and will provide a more striking visual transformation of the space. The Parlor is the largest [...]
Sugar and Spice, and All That’s Nice: ‘Reproof’, by Edward Russell Thaxter
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, 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. A member of the Italian enclave was Edward Russell Thaxter, a [...]