Enfilade

Paneling from the hôtel Le Bas de Montargis, place Vendôme, Paris, ca. 1705 (Musée du Louvre / Olivier Ouadah).

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

Press release posted at ArtDaily (with additional coverage and images at ArtNet News and by Didier Rykner at La Tribune de l’Art) . . .

The Louvre has announced the June 6, 2014 reopening of its newly restored and reinstalled 18th-Century Decorative Arts Galleries. One of the most comprehensive collections of 18th-century French decorative arts in world, the collection is on view to the public for the first time since 2005. The 35 galleries—which span 23,000 square feet—display over 2,000 pieces in object-focused galleries and period-room settings. The new installation traces the evolution of French taste and the decorative arts, emphasize the major artisans and artists of the period, and highlight the renowned collectors and patrons of the era.

The exhibition design was conceived collaboratively by interior designer and French decorative-arts connoisseur Jacques Garcia and the curators in the Department of Decorative Arts under the direction of Marc Bascou. The architectural project management for the new galleries was entrusted to Michel Goutal, the Louvre’s senior historical monument architect, with technical assistance provided by the Louvre’s Department of Project Planning and Management. American Friends of the Louvre (AFL) has played a vital role in the renovation by raising $4 million in support of the project and one of its key period rooms—the restoration of l’Hôtel Dangé-Villemaré drawing room which has not been exhibited in its entirety since its 19th-century acquisition by the Louvre. In addition, AFL also raised funds for the restoration and first ever public presentation of a magnificent cupola painted by Antoine François Callet which will be installed in the galleries and for the English-language edition of the book of the Louvre’s decorative arts collection whose publication will celebrate the opening (see below).

Interior architecture from the assembly room of l’hôtel Dangé. Paris, ca. 1750, with modern additions. Height to the cornice, 15’ Paris, Musée du Louvre / Olivier Ouadah).

L’Hôtel Dangé-Villemaré’s drawing room, built in 1709 and redecorated in 1750, is one of the most important surviving examples of an interior by a Louis XV-era Parisian workshop. The room’s decorative paneling, for which it is noteworthy, has undergone extensive conservation to reveal its original color and various tones of gilding. The alternating wide and narrow panels are also notable for their elegant motifs, which include symbols of the arts, sciences, and commerce. Medallions at the tops and the bases of the panels feature delightfully painted images of children at play. The drawing room will also feature Versailles parquet floors, sumptuous furniture pieces, and bronze furnishings.

“The 18th-Century Decorative Arts Galleries have always been a particular favorite of American visitors, who appreciate the opulence and craftsmanship of this work,” said Executive Director of AFL Sue Devine. “AFL’s support of the renovation of l’Hôtel Dangé-Villemaré’s drawing room seemed like a natural progression in the United States’ long tradition of support for and appreciation of French art and culture. We are proud to be a part of this major moment in the Louvre’s history.”

When the Louvre closed the decorative arts galleries on the first floor of the Cour Carrée’s north wing to bring them in compliance with current safety regulations, the museum seized the opportunity to revisit the installation of the galleries, which had not been appreciably updated since 1966. Under the direction of Marc Bascou and Jannic Durand, former and current Directors of the Department of Decorative Arts respectively, and in collaboration with the curators in the Department of Decorative Arts, the Louvre has reinterpreted its collections and reinstalled them as a series of period rooms and themed galleries, which allows closer examination of the museum’s collection. The galleries are grouped into three main chronological and stylistic moments:

• 1660–1725, The reign of Louis XIV and the Regency
• 1725–1755, The height of the Rococo style
• 1755–1790, Return to classicism and the reign of Louis XVI

“We wanted to achieve a happy medium between period rooms and exhibition galleries,” said Jannic Durand, Director of the Department of Decorative Arts. “Each object benefits from being in relationship with other objects. In some cases, this means creating a period room so our visitors can understand how people lived with these objects or so they can appreciate holistically the elegance and refinement of the 18th century. In other instances, it means curating display cases devoted entirely to porcelain, silverware, and even some pieces of furniture to underscore the history of techniques and styles.”

When possible, the Louvre has reconstructed documented decorative groupings, accompanied by period furniture, such as the drawing room and library of l’Hôtel Dangé-Villemaré, the Grand Salon of the Château d’Abondant, and the ceremonial bedchamber at the Hôtel de Chevreuse. Other rooms bring together “recollections of interiors,” in Jacques Garcia’s words, which are stylistically coherent groupings of furniture and objects within a recreated decorative setting. “The Louvre’s new decorative arts galleries will embody the constant evolution of taste, flowing in a coherent movement from the ascension of a new style during Louis XIV’s reign to the time of Marie- Antoinette at the end of the Ancien Régime,” said Jacques Garcia. “The galleries will display a multitude of atmospheres, but will always remain true to the sense of the innovation and beauty that characterizes the Grand Siècle of decorative arts which, in France, was the 18th century.”

Faience dishes and pottery depicting scenes from history, in the tradition of Castelli Maiolica earthenware, Pavie and Nevers (France) 1650–1700
(Paris, Musée du Louvre / Olivier Ouadah).

Using objects and furnishings, the reinstallation also introduces visitors to members of the royal family, including: Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI, the Prince de Condé, the Comte d’Artois, Mesdames de France (the king’s daughters), and Marie-Antoinette, as well as Louis XV’s mistresses Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, nobles of the royal court such as the duc de Chevreuse and the marquis de Sourches, and wealthy financiers such as the keeper of the royal treasure Claude Le Bas de Montargis, and the tax collector François-Balthazar Dangé. Particular emphasis has been given to artisans with royal patronage—the most celebrated of whom were granted free lodgings in the Galerie du Louvre alongside their workshops. Such examples include André- Charles Boulle and Thomas Germain, whose workshops served not only French kings and courtiers, but also Europe’s elite, contributing to the dissemination of French culture and setting fashions throughout the continent. The installation also highlights the period’s master craftsmen, including: cabinet-makers André-Charles Boulle, Charles Cressent, Bernard II van Risemburgh, Jean-François Oeben, Martin Carlin, and Jean-Henri Riesener; the silver- and goldsmiths Thomas and François-Thomas Germain, Nicolas Besnier, Jacques Roëttiers and son, and Robert-Joseph Auguste; and the painters and decorators Charles Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, and Charles-Antoine Coypel. The visitor experience in the galleries is further enriched through multimedia aids and new interpretative materials that contextualize the works on view and give insight into the evolution of taste, methods of production, the patronage system, and how the objects were used

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

Somogy published the catalogue, available in both French and English:

Jannic Durand, Michèle Bimbenet-Privat, and Frédéric Dassas, Décors, Mobilier et Objets d’Art du Musée du Louvre: De Louis XIV à Marie-Antoinette (Paris: Somogy, 2014), 554 pages, ISBN: 978-2757206027, €45.

Jannic Durand, Michèle Bimbenet-Privat, and Frédéric Dassas, Decorative Furnishings and Objets d’Art in the Louvre from Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette (Paris: Somogy, 2014), 568 pages, ISBN: 978-2757206034, €45.

Over two hundred and fifty masterpieces from one of the most magnificent eras in the decorative arts are featured in this book, ranging from the splendors of courtly art under Louis XIV to the dazzling creations inspired first by Madame de Pompadour under Louis XV and then by Queen Marie-Antoinette under Louis XVI. A broad perspective on interior decoration, luxury goods, and the art market is offered through lavish furniture by the likes of André-Charles Boulle and Charles Cressent during the Régence, through extravagant dinner services, and through the magnificent porcelain and tapestries produced by the royal manufactories, constituting a “moment of perfection in French art” that lasted until the Revolution.

The Louvre’s new rooms devoted to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century decorative arts opened in May 2014. Some two thousand items are displayed in nearly twenty thousand square feet of exhibition space, representing one of the world’s finest collections of furnishings and objets d’art from the reign of Louis XIV through that of Louis XVI. The new galleries are organized chronologically and are punctuated by spectacular period rooms that recreate the magnificent wood-paneled interiors of lavish residences and princely palaces in eighteenth-century Paris. These reconstitutions of a bygone period provide the setting for truly remarkable objets d’art from the Louvre’s Department of Decorative Arts—now placed in their original intellectual and material context, these items recreate a vanished atmosphere and finally reveal their full meaning as well as their full beauty.

Press release (4 June 2014) from Pittsburgh’s Frick Art & Historical Center:

The Board of Trustees of the Frick Art & Historical Center announces the appointment of Robin Nicholson as the institution’s third director. Currently Deputy Director for Art and Education at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond, Virginia, Mr. Nicholson will assume his new post in Pittsburgh on September 2.

Mr. Nicholson’s appointment is the result of an intensive national search, conducted by a Search Committee that was formed immediately following the October 2013 retirement announcement of current Director Bill Bodine, whose 12-year tenure began in 2002. The seven-member Search Committee worked in collaboration with Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc. Search Committee Chair Betsy Watkins comments, “The Search Committee enthusiastically recommended Mr. Nicholson to the Board. We are impressed by his creative energy, his scholarship, his appreciation for our collections, and his ideas about programming at the Frick. We feel fortunate to have attracted someone of his caliber to the Frick and are confident that
he will bring inspired leadership to the institution.”

Carolyn ‘Cary’ Reed, Chair of the Frick’s Board of Trustees, says, “We are excited about welcoming Mr. Nicholson to the Frick in September. He joins us at an important time in the Center’s history, as we open a new Orientation Center and break ground for renovated spaces for our education programs, a new carriage gallery and a community center.”

This summer the Frick will open an Orientation Center, which will serve as a point of entry for visitors. The completion of this new facility marks the culmination of the first phase of a site-wide expansion project that began in 2012. The second phase of the project is planned to begin this summer.

Robin Nicholson has served as Deputy Director for Art and Education at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts since 2010. In this post, he has overseen the museum’s curatorial, exhibitions, education, statewide partnerships, publications, and library departments. Mr. Nicholson began his tenure at the VMFA in 2006 as director for exhibitions. Prior to joining the staff of the VMFA, he spent 14 years as director and curator of the corporate art collection of the Drambuie Corporation, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, and with corporate offices in England and the United States.

A renowned scholar of the art of the eighteenth-century Stuart royal courts in Paris and Rome, Robin Nicholson was educated at Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada, and the University of Cambridge, England, where he earned an MA degree. He has published and lectured extensively on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European art. Mr. Nicholson is the author of a book on the portraiture of Prince Charles Edward Stuart that was published by Bucknell University Press in 2002.

At the VMFA, he oversaw a number of major exhibition projects, including Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée Picasso, Paris, the most ambitious exhibition in the VMFA’s history. A 2008 alumni of the Getty Museum Leadership Program and past Chair of the Scottish Society for Art History, Mr. Nicholson served as cultural representative on the Presidential Bilateral Commission on US-Russia Relations.

In discussing his appointment as the Frick’s third director, Mr. Nicholson says, “I am thrilled to take on the leadership of an organization that is poised to take its place as a true icon in the dynamic Pittsburgh cultural landscape. The legacy of two inspirational previous directors has transformed the Frick and placed it in a position of strength where anything is possible—with collections, exhibition, collaborations, interpretation, education, programs, and a great historic green space in the heart of the city. The Frick has many compelling stories to tell, a great staff, and an extraordinarily supportive board leadership; it is a unique institution with unique opportunities at a key moment in its history.”

Frick Board of Trustees Chair Cary Reed remarks, “In its relatively short history, the Frick is fortunate to have had two extraordinary directors—Dick McIntosh and Bill Bodine—each of whom made significant contributions to the institution’s development. We are confident that Robin Nicholson will build on these great legacies as we continue and expand the quality exhibitions and programs which have been the hallmarks of the Frick Art & Historical Center.”

I’m afraid this posting should have run six months ago. The press release dates to last July, though Thomas has been in the position only since December.

It perhaps, however, can serve as a useful reminder of how many things slip by me. Particularly with summer here  (or at least summer in the northern hemisphere) and so many of you doing fascinating things around the world, please don’t be bashful in writing to share news. All the best for the next few months, -Craig Hanson

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

The Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum are pleased to announce the appointment of Abraham Thomas as the next Director of the Museum. He will take up the appointment on 3 December 2013. Announcing the appointment, Guy Elliott, Chairman of the Trustees, said, “The Trustees have appointed Abraham Thomas to be their next Director on the unanimous recommendation of their search committee, which included senior external members, as well as four Trustees. The decision has been endorsed by the Royal Academy of Arts, as required by our governing legislation.

“Mr Thomas comes to us from The Victoria and Albert Museum, where, as Curator of Designs, he was responsible for, amongst other exhibitions, the brilliant and much praised Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary. He joins the Soane Museum at a particularly creative and challenging time in its history. The immediate priority is to complete the museum’s acclaimed Opening up the Soane project, which has already delivered a new exhibition gallery, conservation studios, disability access, and shop. Sir John Soane’s private apartments, not seen since 1837,
will feature prominently once the current phase concludes in 2014.

The new Director will build upon recent successes to lead The Soane’s talented staff and volunteer force in realizing the fullest potential of the museum as an ‘academy’, as Soane described it, that is, a centre of learning. The work and reputation of Sir John Soane himself, the unique atmosphere of his former home and its unparalleled collections have the ‘permanently magical’ power to inspire and inform all those who seek knowledge and understanding of the story of architecture.”

Responding, Mr Thomas said “I am delighted to be appointed the next Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum. It’s a great honour to be invited to lead this unique institution, and I look forward to building upon the fantastic work carried out by my predecessor, Tim Knox, and the staff, in order to create an exciting future for the Museum. I have always considered the Soane to be an extraordinary container of ideas, and I’m thrilled at the prospect of working closely with the staff and Trustees to explore boldly Sir John Soane’s original vision for his building and wide-ranging collections—a legacy which I believe can offer immeasurable relevance for today’s world.”

Abraham Thomas was Curator of Designs, and lead curator for architecture, at the V&A. During his eight years at the Museum he made an outstanding contribution to the public programme, working across historical and contemporary architecture and design with responsibility for the V&A’s collection of approximately 200,000 design drawings, maquettes and models. This collection ranges in scope from the 16th century to the present day and across disciplines such as architecture, furniture, sculpture, metalwork and ceramics, all of which are represented at the Soane.

Thomas has played a key role as lead curator in the V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership. In addition to curating such acclaimed exhibitions as Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary and 1:1 – Architects Build Small Spaces, he was the curator of the V&A’s bicentenary retrospective on the 19th-century designer, Owen Jones, A Higher Ambition and co-curator of an expanded version which later toured internationally. He has subsequently published related research on Owen Jones, who, like Soane, broke the mould by proposing a modern style unique to the nineteenth century, as well as on James Wild (curator of Sir John Soane’s Museum from 1878 to his death in 1892) and other key 19th-century artists working in the Middle East. Thomas succeeds Tim Knox, who was with the Soane for almost eight years before being appointed Director and Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Press release from The Cleveland Museum of Art:

In May 2014, Dr. William M. Griswold became the 10th director of the Cleveland Museum of Art since its founding in 1916. Dr. Griswold enters the life of the museum at a dynamic moment—with a newly completed expansion project increasing its capacity and significance, and a centennial anniversary approaching. His ambition is to build the museum’s strong relevance throughout the region, the nation and the world, capitalize on its long-standing community engagement legacy and enhance the quality and breadth of its well-known collection.

Dr. Griswold’s tenure at the Cleveland Museum of Art follows his term as the fifth Director of The Morgan Library & Museum since the institution’s founding in 1924. During his seven years of leadership there, Dr. Griswold spearheaded the growth of the Morgan’s collections, exhibition program and curatorial departments, most recently adding Photography as a focus. He oversaw a number of important exhibitions and scholarly exchanges with leading international museums, including the Louvre, London’s Courtauld Institute, Munich’s Graphische Sammlung and Turin’s Biblioteca Reale.

In 2010, Dr. Griswold initiated the first interior restoration of the Morgan’s historic McKim building since its construction as Pierpont Morgan’s private study and library more than a century ago. He also oversaw a project to digitize the Morgan’s renowned collections, beginning with its holdings of drawings and music manuscripts, two of its most important. In 2011, he supervised the establishment of the innovative Morgan Drawing Institute to advance the study of drawings of all periods and schools. As a result of these initiatives, and many more, the Morgan over the last several years has seen some of the most robust donor support and attendance in its history.

Dr. Griswold had previously served as Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, from 2005 to 2007; Acting Director and Chief Curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004 to 2005; and Associate Director for Collections at the Getty, beginning in 2001. Prior to joining the Getty, Dr. Griswold had been Charles W. Engelhard Curator and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library since 1995. From 1988 to 1995, he was on the staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, first as Assistant and then as Associate Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints.

Dr. Griswold was the co-author with Jacob Bean of 18th-Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and has written extensively on Florentine drawings of the early Renaissance. He oversaw the design and creation of the Morgan’s Drawing Study Center, and in 1998 curated a historically significant exchange of exhibitions between the Morgan and The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. In 1999 he co-curated New York Collects, the Morgan’s first major exhibition devoted to twentieth-century art, and in 2002 he was co-author with Jennifer Tonkovich of Pierre Matisse and His Artists.

Formerly a member of the board of directors of The Courtauld Institute of Art, Dr. Griswold currently serves on the boards of the American Federation of Arts, American Friends of the Shanghai Museum, and American Trust for the British Library. He is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors and President of Master Drawings Association, which publishes the scholarly journal Master Drawings. In 2008, he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier of the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Dr. Griswold earned his bachelor’s degree at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and his Ph.D. at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Carol Vogel reports on Griswold’s appointment for The New York Times (20 May 2014), here»

Lock, 18th century, French, gilt bronze, 7 x 8 inches (New York: Metropolitian Museum of Art, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1906, #07.225.510.1). For more information, click here»

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

Press release (16 May 2014) from The Met:

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use—including in scholarly publications in any media—without permission from the Museum and without a fee. The number of available images will increase as new digital files are added on a regular basis.

In making the announcement, Mr. Campbell said: “Through this new, open-access policy, we join a growing number of museums that provide free access to images of art in the public domain. I am delighted that digital technology can open the doors to this trove of images from our encyclopedic collection.”

The Metropolitan Museum’s initiative—called Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC)—provides access to images of art in its collection that the Museum believes to be in the public domain and free of other known restrictions; these images are now available for scholarly use in any media. Works that are covered by the new policy are identified on the Museum’s website with the acronym OASC. (Certain works are not available through the initiative for one or more of the following reasons: the work is still under copyright, or the copyright status is unclear; privacy or publicity issues; the work is owned by a person or an institution other than the Metropolitan Museum; restrictions by the artist, donor, or lender; or lack of a digital image of suitable quality.)

OASC was developed as a resource for students, educators, researchers, curators, academic publishers, non-commercial documentary filmmakers, and others involved in scholarly or cultural work. Prior to the establishment of OASC, the Metropolitan Museum provided images upon request, for a fee, and authorization was subject to terms and conditions. Additional information and instructions on OASC can be found here.

Restoration of the Pellegrini paintings in the Golden Room of the Mauritshuis has just been completed in time for the re-opening of the museum in June. As noted at ArtDaily:

The Golden Room, a spectacular 18th-century room in the Mauritshuis , which includes a series of paintings by Italian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675–1741) has been restored. The 15 wall and ceiling paintings were treated as part of the museum’s larger building project. The restoration of the Pellegrini paintings was undertaken with the support of the Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam. The pictures from the Golden Room are the first to have been returned to the renovated Mauritshuis. The museum will reopen after a two-year renovation on the evening of Friday 27 June.

The restoration of the Golden Room is an important component of the museum’s large scale project to renovate and expand the building. The restoration of the 15 monumental paintings by Pellegrini in the Golden Room was necessary. Although the pictures were not seriously damaged, they had been painted over several times, and the canvas was stained and showed strong yellow discoloration. The Johan Mauritshuis Compagnie Foundation provided the funding to realise the restoration.

Once the varnish had been removed, an unknown grey haze was discovered on the paintings. According to Carol Pottasch, Mauritshuis conservator who led this sizable restoration project: “We couldn’t figure out what this haze was initially; clearly, it wasn’t paint. In order to be able to bring the paintings back to their optimal condition, we had to find out the composition of this haze, so that it could be removed. Thankfully, the staff of the Shell Technology Centre, who have the equipment necessary to conduct the chemical analysis that we needed, were able to help us.” The Mauritshuis and Shell have been collaborating closely as ‘Partners in Science’ in the field of technical research since 2012, focussing on paintings by Pellegrini and Jan Steen. The partnership has already proved invaluable: together, they were able to establish that the cause of the grey haze was the wood- and coal-burning stoves used to heat the Golden Room.

In 1704 a fire reduced the whole interior of the 17th century Mauritshuis building to ashes. The interior had to be completely refurnished and redecorated. Italian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675–1741) was asked to decorate the Grote Benedenzaal, as the Golden Room was called at the time. Pellegrini was one of the most important Venetian painters of the early 18th century. The paintings are special: they are the only Italian pieces on display in the Mauritshuis and they are still on site, unlike most Pellegrini paintings.

The recipient of a £1.2m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the French Hospital in Rochester, Kent is on schedule to open in 2015 the first museum dedicated to the history and legacy of the Huguenots in Great Britain.

From the project description:

The story so far
95 High Street, Rochester, Kent

In 2010 the Directors (Trustees) of the 295-year-old Huguenot-founded French Hospital in Rochester High Street, were presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This was afforded by Medway Council which gave them the opportunity to purchase the two storey building which would allow, not only an increase in the number of flats for people of Huguenot descent from 59 to 63, but also the establishment of the first Huguenot Heritage Centre in the UK.

The building stretches from the High Street to the line of the Roman Wall, from its fine, art deco-style rooms at the front through to more functional facilities. It also lies opposite and very close to the proposed, new railway station and within a very short walk of the Cathedral and Castle. This offer fulfilled the wish of the Directors to increase the number of almshouse flats, creating secure state-of-the-art facilities for the storage of Huguenot family archives, books and historical material of great significance, in an air-conditioned and temperature controlled environment. Importantly it also provides new spaces and an existing 96-seat theatre for creating the first ever museum and education centre covering the extraordinary role played by French Protestant immigrants to this country.

To take full advantage of the large number of visitors to Rochester, the French Hospital has leased back the ground floor to Medway Council for the next 20 years, so that it can continue to provide the existing Visitor Information Centre and café for its 320,000 visitors per annum.

The past and the future

Successful integration of immigrants into a community is a skill. There is much that can be learnt today to the country’s benefit from the practices and initiatives of both the Huguenot immigrants and their welcoming nation. The Huguenot Heritage Centre will be the first and only visitor centre in Britain focussed specifically on this sizeable immigrant population, demonstrating the positive benefits well-managed immigration can bring to Britain and providing a useful comparator with later influxes of immigrants. To achieve these aims a dedicated Huguenot Heritage Centre Committee is working on the plans for conversion of the building and the raising of the money to complete this exciting project.

The Huguenot Heritage Centre will provide

• A major focus and source of pride for those of Huguenot descent, with an important opportunity to learn about their heritage and, if desired, to have the opportunity to safeguard their artefacts and papers in the long-term.
• Greater accessibility to the collections and archives for the public, researchers and heritage professionals.
• An expansion of public knowledge about an important part of the history of modern Britain as well as the history of Huguenots and their descendants.
• An improved physical access and condition of display of precious heritage artefacts which will also be better conserved, as well as being digitised.
• Educational courses and research facilities, which will be available with the collections and archives for teachers, students, community groups and individuals. Subjects covered will include important elements of British history, genealogy, family history, immigration, persecution, tolerance and the skills and trades brought to Britain by the Huguenots; and the lessons which can be learnt from these.
• A new opportunity for personal development and growth through volunteering.

Four new flats for the French Hospital Almshouses

To satisfy the increasing need for additional sheltered accommodation for those of Huguenot descent and to reduce its waiting list of some 100 applicants for the French Hospital, four new flats will also be included in the conversion. These well insulated, lift accessible flats with good views across the River Medway and surrounding countryside, will be compliant with the Almshouse Association guidelines and contain a living room, two bedrooms, kitchen and a bathroom.

A background profile of the French Hospital

The French Hospital, known by generations of residents as La Providence, was founded in London in 1718 as a charity, offering sanctuary to poor French Protestants or Huguenots as they are known. It has had several subsequent locations and currently maintains 59 self-contained, sheltered flats in the ancient Roman City of Rochester in Kent. On the same site, it owns a highly regarded collection of paintings, engravings, furniture, silverware, clocks, books, archival records and other items illustrating the culture and history of the Huguenots. However, the collection is neither readily accessible by the public, nor is it professionally displayed in a museum gallery setting.

Fundraising campaign

The total target for the campaign is approximately £5 million. . . The French Hospital is governed by a board of nearly 40 Directors (Trustees) including a Governor, Deputy Governor, Treasurer and Secretary. The Board has begun a fundraising campaign for the recent purchase of 95 High Street, the development of a Huguenot Heritage Centre and additional almshouse sheltered accommodation. For more information and how to fulfil these aims, please visit the French Hospital’s website or write to us:

The French Hospital
Charity number 219318
41 La Providence, Rochester
Kent ME1 1NB

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

 The newly restored Salon Doré has just opened at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco:

The Salon Doré from the Hôtel de La Trémoille is one of the finest examples of French Neoclassical interior architecture in the United States. Richly carved and ornately gilded, it was designed during the reign of Louis XVI as the main salon de compagnie—a receiving room for guests—of the Hôtel de La Trémoille on the rue Saint-Dominique in Paris.