Item-by-item conservation assessment of paintings in the BMCM+AC Permanent Collection
FAIN: PG-280839-21
Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center (Asheville, NC 28801-2916)
Alice V. Sebrell (Project Director: January 2021 to January 2023)
A conservation assessment of 131 paintings by alumni and faculty of Black Mountain College, including Fannie Hillsmith, Pat Passlof, Jo Sandman, and Sewell Sillman. These paintings are used in exhibitions and public programming at the museum to explore the unique academic history of Black Mountain College as an interdisciplinary learning environment active from 1933 to 1957, in which students studied and collaborated with professors such as renowned modern artists Josef Albers, Robert Motherwell, and Willem de Kooning. The project would also include a workshop for staff in object handling, storage, and preservation techniques.
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) seeks a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a conservation assessment of 131 paintings from the museum’s Permanent Collection, which includes significant works created at Black Mountain College as well as later works that represent the careers and influence of the individuals associated with the college. Funding will support bringing two conservators to review current housing and storage of paintings; recommend purchase of materials; assess each painting individually; produce detailed reports for works needing conservation treatments; and train BMCM+AC staff on professional standards for managing paintings in the collection.