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[IN] ATL ART TRA
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TO ARTS, NATIONAL, AND TRAVEL EDITORS:
George Washington's "New Room" Unveiled at Mount Vernon
Digital images available
MOUNT VERNON, Va., March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Officials
at George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, unveiled on March 21 the
results of the most comprehensive room research and renovation effort
in the 161-year history of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. The
"New Room", the largest and grandest room in George Washington's
Mansion, has taken on a new appearance and a new interpretation. To
celebrate the grand re-opening and reinterpretation of the room, Mount
Vernon will display, for the first time in more than 200 years, twenty
of the twenty-one pictures that were believed to hang in the space
during Washington's lifetime-including fourteen original
Washington-owned works.
"Washington called this space his ?New Room,'" said Mount Vernon
curator Susan Schoelwer, and it is by any standard one of the great
interior spaces of early America, beautifully decorated and furnished
to display his vision for the new country."
Mount Vernon has previously interpreted this room as a formal dining
room, but the latest review of the evidence suggests that the
Washingtons only occasionally used it for that purpose. Using
documentary research and physical evidence, Mount Vernon called upon
its in-house historic preservations and collections experts as well as
outside authorities in the field to arrive at an unprecedentedly
accurate interpretation of the space.
The dining table has been removed, and the walls are heavily adorned
with artwork, hung floor to ceiling in gallery style. Visitors are
better able to admire the room's grand architectural details, design
finishes, and paintings and drawings on display, just as they might
have in Washington's time.
On view through Memorial Day only, is John Trumbull's oil portrait
George Washington at Verplanck's Point, on loan from the Winterthur
Museum. Originally presented by the artist to Martha Washington in
1790, it returns to Mount Vernon for the first time in more than 200
years. Also on display through Memorial Day only is an original
Washington-owned pastel portrait of Saint John the Evangelist.
Many of the objects presented in the room-including eleven works of
art, four looking glasses, two silver-plated lamps, the marble mantel,
and three porcelain vases-underwent conservation treatments. Mount
Vernon also acquired two original Washington-owned engravings, three
period duplicates of Washington-owned engravings, and two bisque
porcelain figure groups to better present the art collection displayed
during Washington's lifetime.
Visitors will notice numerous changes to the room's presentation.
Although the walls are still a vibrant shade of green, new paint
analysis techniques have revealed a more complex and sophisticated
color scheme. The paint covering the walls has been re-applied using a
special acrylic distemper technique to create a softer, fabric-like
finish. The curved cove at the top of the walls is now painted white,
and woodwork accents are a deeper khaki color, which Washington
described as "buff inclining to white."
The wallpaper border that accents the space is also slightly different
in appearance. Through careful research, Mount Vernon officials were
able to match surviving fragments found in earlier restorations of the
room to a historic wallpaper pattern in the collections of the Musée
des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. By locating this archival pattern, Mount
Vernon was able to commission a more complete and accurate
reproduction of the original design.
When considering the room's window treatments, Mount Vernon took a
closer look at documentary evidence, including inventory records and
Martha Washington's will. The smaller east and west windows are
adorned with white-on-white embroidered curtains, trimmed with green
and gold. The room's large Palladian window has been left bare
showcasing this impressive architectural feature.
The $600,000 room restoration project was fully funded by private
sources, with significant contributions from Mount Vernon donor groups
including the Life Guard Society for Historic Mount Vernon and The
Connoisseur Society, along with a generous donation from the Dr.
Scholl Foundation. Mount Vernon also secured $100,000 to fund the
project through the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2013
Partners in Preservation competition. The Mount Vernon Ladies'
Association owns and operates the estate and accepts no government
funding.
The New Room will open to visitors at 9 a.m. on March 22. For more
information and to view images of the restoration project, visit
MountVernon.org/NewRoom.
Since 1860, more than 85 million visitors have made George
Washington'sMount Vernon the most popular historic home in America. A
privately-owned national treasure, Mount Vernon is maintained and
operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Since purchasing the
estate from the Washington family and assuming stewardship in 1858,
the Association has embraced a heroic mission to preserve, protect,
and maintain the estate for the American people, relying exclusively
on private donations, admission fees, and restaurant and retail
proceeds. Through robust education and outreach programs, the
Association expands awareness about the exceptional life and character
of George Washington, sustaining his legacy through research,
interpretation, and public education. In experiences on the estate and
through its digital outreach platforms, Mount Vernon strives to
preserve George Washington's place in history as "First in War, First
in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen."
With its latest initiative, The Fred W. Smith National Library for the
Study of George Washington, Mount Vernon is affirming its status as
the preeminent center of learning about George Washington, his life,
character of leadership, and legacy. In addition to safeguarding
original books and manuscripts, the Library serves as a center for
leadership, where scholars, influencers, and other luminaries come
together to talk about the past as well as the future, inspired by
Washington's extraordinary life, achievements, and character.
Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September,
October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November - February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Regular admission rates: adults, $18; senior citizens, $17; children
age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $9; and children under age 5,
FREE. Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with
private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount
Vernon.
SOURCE Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
-0- 03/21/2014
/CONTACT: Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203, mwood@mountvernon.org
/Web Site: http://www.visit.mountvernon.org
CO: Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
ST: Virginia
IN: ATL ART TRA
PRN
-- DC87952 --
0000 03/21/2014 15:00:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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