Improving Storage and Mitigating Light Pollution for the Yolo County Historical Collection
FAIN: PG-266659-19
County of Yolo (Woodland, CA 95695-3448)
Mark Fink (Project Director: January 2019 to December 2021)
The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse
70 works of art on paper and 25 textiles currently stored in the attic of a historic
house museum, the Gibson House. The request also includes the purchase of ultraviolet
window film to mitigate light damage to objects on display, and the purchase of
data loggers for environmental monitoring, all recommended in a previous museum
assessment. Yolo County was established in 1850 with California statehood, and
the Gibson House dates from the same era. Highlights include landscape
paintings that portray the early agricultural settings of Yolo County and a
collection of nineteenth-century crazy quilts. The museum serves as an
educational resource for students in the Sacramento State University graduate
public history program, as well as for approximately 300 third-grade students studying
local history.
This grant will support preservation objectives that improve the storage and material integrity of objects in the Yolo County Historical Collection on display at the Gibson House historic home. The purpose of the Yolo County Historical Collection is to illustrate, through objects and archives, the stories of individuals and families who settled Yolo County and created the thriving cultural and economic center we know today. The proposed project intends to improve the collections storage by rehousing 70 artworks and 25 textile quilts into archival painting racks and rolled textile supports. The project would also provide light filtration for display areas through the use of UV film on the windows of the historic home. Ongoing environmental monitoring of display areas will be facilitated through the use of data loggers. This grant will improve the preservation and storage of artworks and quilts as well as the mitigation of light pollution and ongoing environmental monitoring.