As the sounds of drills and hammers and various other tools of renovation reverberated off the walls of the Swope Art Museum on Thursday, volunteer Todd Nation, Swope registrar, preparator and collections manager Kayle Engel and intern Alia Sarris worked together to hang Tompkins Harrison Matteson’s painting, “Washington’s Farewell to his Officers,” right outside of the museum’s elevator door on the second floor.
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Swope Art Museum registrar, preparator and collections manager Kayle Engel, center, and volunteer Todd Nation, right, move a bust of George Washington into place as curator Amy MacLennan, left, looks on Thursday on the second floor of the museum. Earlier Engel, Nation and intern Alia Sarris had installed the painting of Washington to the left.
The scene the painting captures is a familiar one to many local school children, past and present, of General Washington bidding farewell to his officers. The scene is one that students can say they saw in their textbooks and now can once again see in person.
The painting had been in storage like many other works that are part of the museum’s collection. But, the recent start of the museum’s renovation project demanded that it and all of the others be moved into three galleries on the other side of the building as a construction crew works on what will be the museum’s new collection storage space on the first floor near the intersection of Ohio and Seventh streets.
It was decided that the painting should be displayed once again.
Discovering the wonder of art as it hangs on walls and is displayed on tables is hoped by any museum director or curator to be part of the museum visitor’s experience. But, for Swope Curator Amy MacLennan and her fellow staff members and volunteers like Nation, rediscovering some of the collection that has been in storage has been a thrill also.
While MacLennan has seen some of it digitally and may have heard about an artist’s work in the collection, the renovation has allowed her to see it in person as all of the pieces have had to be physically moved or carried to the temporary storage space on the second floor.
“It’s been really rewarding,” MacLennan said about the rediscovery of pieces that have been held in storage. “We have a wonderful collection.”
The temptation to pull out every piece and rediscover it for hours on end is real.
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Because of the Swope Art Museum’s renovation, curator Amy MacLennan and staff had to move the art pieces that were in storage on the first floor to temporary storage on the second floor. During the move, MacLennan found Charles Warren Eaton’s painting, “Lake Como,” in a box on a shelf in a corner of the storage area. Here, MacLennan lifts up the pastel piece Thursday in the museum’s Hulman Gallery.
While all of the stored pieces are equally fascinating, it’s the work of Gilbert Wilson that caught MacLennan’s eye after she re-discovered it.
MacLennan believes the museum has about 485 of Wilson’s pieces.
Two of the pieces that she and Nation recently wrapped for storage were once displayed in Gerstmeyer Technical High School.
One is a mural with a scarab prominently displayed while another features an eagle.
The paintings of the scarab, eagle and a third mural are believed to have hung in the former high school from 1934 until the school’s demolition in 1971.
“I was surprised by how much art we have of Gilbert Wilson,” said Nation after he installed the Washington painting earlier on Thursday.
“Seeing things like the mural that formally hung in Gerstmeyer High School was exciting for me,” he said.
Realistic paintings by artist Peter Roos was what Engel noticed in the stored works.
Later, MacLennan pulled out Roos’ “The Kitchen” and the “Living Room” in the Hulman Gallery for the Tribune-Star to see.
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Swope Art Museum Curator Amy MacLennan looks for the date on the back of Diana Horowitz’s, “Merchandise Mart from the Hancock Building,” as she looks through some of the art pieces kept in temporary storage because of the museum’s renovation Thursday in a second floor gallery.
One pastel work that MacLennan rediscovered was Charles Warren Eaton’s painting, “Lake Como,” that she found in a box on a shelf in the corner of the old storage area.
“These works are equal to anything you can find in any world class museum,” said MacLennan as she pulled other works off shelves to view for a few brief moments on Thursday.
The renovation is being funded by the $6 million raised by the museum’s recent campaign.
MacLennan estimates the museum will be closed from June through December and reopen in January of 2026.
For more on the museum, visit the Swope’s website, https://www.swope.org/.
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Tompkins Harrison Matteson’s painting, “Washington’s Farewell to his Officers,” is displayed once again in the Swope Art Museum after being pulled out of storage. It is seen here on Thursday on the second floor of the museum right in front of the elevator.
