Shelving for Furniture Collections Storage

FAIN: PG-233693-16

Henry Morrison Flagler Museum (Palm Beach, FL 33480-0969)
Tracy Kamerer (Project Director: May 2015 to January 2017)

The purchase of shelving to store 105 furniture pieces original to the estate of industrialist Henry Flagler dating from the mid-18th to early 20th centuries and representing the varied cultural tastes and artistic styles of the Gilded Age, including Classical Revival, Renaissance Revival, English Arts and Crafts, Egyptian Revival, and Louis XV.

Whitehall, a National Historic Landmark, was the winter home of Henry Flagler, founding partner of Standard Oil, builder of the Florida East Coast Railway, and the inventor of Modern Florida. Its interiors were created by the highly acclaimed firm of Pottier and Stymus. Along with Whitehall's décor, its furniture collection vividly illustrates the most significant styles of the Gilded Age and serves as an important tool for Museum interpretation. Furniture comprises a large subgroup of the Flagler Museum's collections and most of the collection is original to Whitehall or its owners. This grant will fund the purchase of stationary shelving racks for the furniture collection in Whitehall's third floor storage area. The new shelving will meet professional archival standards for long-term conservation and storage stability. The project's goal is to greatly improve the storage environment and increase capacity, fulfilling recommendations from both CAP and Furniture Survey Consultants.