Your August Interior Museum Newsletter is HERE!

U.S. Department of the Interior sent this bulletin at 08/01/2020 10:15 AM EDT

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Catch up on the latest programs and happenings at the Interior Museum

What's New

Comings & Goings

This summer has seen some changes in the Interior Museum’s staff. In June, we welcomed Beth Bayless as a National Council for Preservation Education intern. She is a recent graduate of the University of Mary Washington with a degree in Historic Preservation and a minor in Museum Studies. Though COVID-19 has meant that Bayless is fulfilling much of her internship remotely, she is working with us through December on a variety of projects, including records management, document reviews, and exhibition planning.

After 11.5 years—and four secretarial administrations—July marked the bittersweet departure of Interior Museum director Diana Warring. She began as the museum’s outreach coordinator in 2009, became acting director in 2011, and was named the permanent director in 2014. Warring was integral to many Interior Museum milestones and successes: shepherding the museum through an extensive renovation and reopening in 2014; countless public programs; a complex collections move; our 80^th anniversary activities in 2018; and the current gallery expansion project. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

Behind-the-Scenes

woman standing in front of shelves filled with baskets; hand of woman constructing housing for a basket

In anticipation of our upcoming exhibition, Twined, Plaited, and Coiled: Native American Basketry Highlights from the Interior Museum, assistant registrar Lindsay Laws has been readying nearly 90 baskets for display. Logistical challenges presented by COVID-19 have required Laws to devise creative solutions with professionals across the museum field for all phases of the project—from case layout and mountmaking to packing and transport. In Laws’ coordination with curators, designers, and mountmakers, an object’s safety is always at the forefront while also considering its aesthetics and interpretive needs. Creating a proper mount is crucial for an object’s long-term preservation. A mount serves to support oftentimes fragile elements and to alleviate stress that can compromise an object’s structural integrity over time.

When bringing these baskets from their offsite storage location to the Interior Museum, consideration of the materials is also a priority. Special “housing” is constructed from archival-quality, acid-free components to protect objects from harmful interactions that can occur with more common—and more acidic—supplies, like cardboard or wood. Housing must also be thoughtfully engineered to keep an object from shifting during transport, as that is how damage can occur.

Operational Update

screenshot for Interior Museum's Google Arts and Culture platform

Due to COVID-19, the Interior Museum remains temporarily closed, with no gallery access, building tours, or in-person public programs. Updates will be shared here and on the museum’s website and social media platforms (@InteriorMuseum). Please explore virtually some of our collections highlights and digital exhibitions, as well as more than 50 past public lectures available on our YouTube channel.

Collections Spotlight

serigraph of black, brown, and white bulldog with pink tongue standing on a beach with a small crab

Claws, 802 of 2000
Charley Harper (1922–2007), 1976
Serigraph
U.S. Department of the Interior Museum, OSAC 00039

Heat and humidity are synonymous with the “dog days of summer,” so it is only fitting that this month’s object feature is this beleaguered bulldog at the beach facing off against a feisty crab. Charley Harper’s whimsical serigraph Claws is one of more than 100 Harper works represented in the museum’s collection.

A serigraph is another term for a silkscreen print. Screen printing is the process of applying color through stenciled screens to build an image; each color is a different layer. The exacting process of preparing the screens is key to printing high-quality serigraphs like this one.

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