Project EXHIBIT!

12/03/2012

by Camille Myers Breeze

For nearly a week, the Beard & Weil Galleries at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, was

the scene of great collaboration and ingenuity as students of ARTH 335 Exhibition

Design installed their Fall 2012 show, "100 Years 100 Objects." The exhibit showcases

an object for each of the 100 years since Wheaton Female Seminary became Wheaton

College.

"100 Years 100 Objects" will be on display

December 3, 2012, through February 15, 2013.

Camille Breeze was hired to participate in two days of teaching and exhibit prep thanks

to funding from the Art/Art History Department and the Evelyn Danzig Haas '39 Visiting

Artist Program. After a short presentation about careers in conservation, Camille broke

students into teams according to what remained to be done to install a pair of priceless

textiles conserved by MTS.

Pair of Buddhist scrolls, conserved with assistance of Wheaton College interns

Michelle Drummey and Gabrielle Ferreira in summer 2012, were already hanging when Camille arrived.

The first team underwent the final framing of a silk embroidery depicting "Hagar and

Ishmael are Cast Out by Abraham" (Genesis Chapter XXI), by Eliza Wheaton Strong

(1795-1834). This exquisite textile is very fragile but together the team cleaned the

framing materials, placed the embroidery behind the custom mat, and backed the new

frame with Marvelseal before hanging it in the gallery.

Upon Eliza Wheaton Strong's death, family members established Wheaton Female

Seminary, which later became Wheaton College.

The remaining student teams addressed tasks related to the mounting of the c 1780

costume of the Duchesse de Choiseul, which had been conserved at Museum Textile

Services in 2012. You can read about this project in intern Gabrielle Ferreira's first and

second blogs.

Josephine Johnson '13.

The bust of the custom manikin was covered with show fabric by senior Josephine

Johnson, who is planning for a career in conservation. The base for the manikin was

assembled by a team including senior Morgan Bakerman, who is writing her thesis

about the dress.

A third team addresses the skirt support, which originally was accomplished with rigid

paniers. Students started with a replica of the skirt made by Cara Jordan from cotton

muslin. Next, they machine sewed 3-inch twill tape in two rows across the skirt and

threaded flexible polypropylene tubing through the channel. The tubing provided the

shape of the paniers, and additional pieces of twill tape tied across the underside

created the correct, flat silhouette.

Camille Breeze models the paniers after final touches were made by students.

The costume of the Duchesse de Choiseul, c 1780.

During the final push on Saturday afternoon, the base was attached to the exhibit

platform, the manikin bust was installed, the paniers were tied to the manikin, and finally

the costume was dressed.

Working with an academic institution like Wheaton College is one our favorite jobs at

Museum Textile Services. Many thanks go out to Leah Niederstadt, Museum Studies

Professor and Curator of the Permanent Collection, and Zeph Stickney, Archivist and

Special Collections Curator, for asking Camille to help in this intense and rewarding

project.

Leah Niederstadt and Zeph Stickney editing label copy written with the help of students.