St. Lawrence’s Richard F. Brush Art Gallery has received a Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in support of a study aimed at optimizing its storage facility and three adjacent exhibition galleries.
The study will focus on environmental, mechanical, and structural systems that have been in place for over 40 years to determine design capabilities and optimal operating conditions for improved performance in preservation and energy.
“Climate hazards relevant to the North Country pose a serious risk to our facilities in terms of maintaining sustainable preservation measures, such as temperature and humidity controls, as well as proper roofing and insulation to withstand weather extremes,” says Gallery Director Catherine Tedford, who will lead a project team that includes Bob Hance, associate vice president and chief facilities officer, and Jeremy Linden, principal at Linden Preservation Services.
According to NEH, the Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program “helps cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by supporting sustainable conservation measures that mitigate deterioration, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience.”
The NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections planning grant follows an NEH Preservation Assistance for Smaller Institutions Grant awarded to the Gallery in 2020.
Named in recognition of the generosity of Richard F. Brush '52, the Gallery is an academic resource of St. Lawrence University. Rotating exhibitions showcase the visual arts and other forms of creative expression by regional, national, and international artists. The collection includes nearly 7,000 art objects and artifacts, with particular strengths in 20th century American and European works on paper, including photographs, prints, portfolios, drawings, and artists’ books. Recent acquisitions include works by Akwesasne Mohawk artists Iakonikonriiosta, Katsitsionni Fox, and Natasha Smoke Santiago, and mokuhanga prints by Lucy May Schofield, Andy Farkas, Mariko Jesse, Katsutoshi Yuasa, Yoonmi Nam, Mia O, Katie Baldwin, and Patty Hudak.
The gallery is free and open to the public during the academic year.
