Ten drawings from the Hegeler Carus Mansion House Museum
collection will be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
as part of an exhibit on gilded age furniture from December 15, 2015 through
May 1, 2016.
Original George A. Schastey drawing newly
preserved by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
On display in the American Wing through May 2016.
|
The drawings are part of the original architectural and design
plans for the Hegeler Carus Mansion and date from between 1874 when construction
began on the Mansion to 1876, when the Hegeler family moved into the home.
The house museum’s collection includes architectural plans by
William W. Boyington, interior and furniture design drawings by William August Fiedler, and textile and furniture design drawings by George Schastey, as well
as furniture and artifacts that belonged to three generations of the Hegeler
and Carus families that lived in the Mansion from 1876 until 2004.
“It is truly rare and wonderful that these plans and drawings
have survived for over 140 years.” said Kelly Klobucher, Executive Director of
the Hegeler Carus Foundation, which operates the Mansion as a house museum. “We
are fortunate that the family stored the drawings in the attic. Todd Voelker
was director of special projects at Carus Corporation when our organization was
in its infancy. It was he who found the Boyington,
Fiedler and Schastey drawings in 1994.
This was very early in the preservation process. The drawings have been scanned and now we are
able to refer to them when working on preservation projects.”
Three newly preserved drawings by George A. Schastey hand at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
|
The Metropolitan Museum of Art contacted the Hegeler Carus
Foundation about the George Schastey drawings last winter after learning of
their existence from Hegeler Carus board member Rolf Achilles. Achilles is a professor, preservationist, and
is a world renowned expert on the decorative arts. “The exceptional characteristic of the Hegeler
Carus Museum is that it is unchanged. The Schastey drawings are extremely rare,
as is the Mansion. Both the drawings and
the Mansion are invaluable examples of artistic achievement and should be
treasured,” said Achilles.
George Schastey operated a successful decorating firm in the
late 19th century and catered to the Vanderbilts, Rockafellers and
other well known families on the east coast.
The ten Schastey drawings in the Hegeler Carus Mansion’s museum
collection consist of textile designs for window treatments, fireplace
surrounds, and small furniture pieces designed for the Hegeler Carus Mansion.
“We were concerned about moving the original drawings. Not only are they are exceedingly fragile,
they are among the most precious pieces of our history at the Mansion,” said
Klobucher.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art sent couriers in June to retrieve
the drawings. They were packed in
special boxes and carried to New York in a climate controlled truck along with
important pieces of art and artifacts from all over the country.
Preserved drawing of a fireplace surround
and mantle designed for the Hegeler Home
in 1874.
|
“The drawings are in better condition now after being in the
care of some of the top conservationists in the world at the Met. We are very grateful to them. This is not something we would have been able
to do on our own,” said Klobucher.
More information on the principle architect and designer of the
Hegeler Carus Mansion:
In addition to the Hegeler Carus Mansion, architect W. W.
Boyington designed Terrace Hill, the Iowa Governor’s Mansion; Joliet State
Penitentiary; Chicago’s Water Tower, the only building to survive the fire of
1871; and also finished the Illinois State Capitol building when architect
Alfred Piquenard passed away during the construction. A prolific architect, according to
Boyington’s obituary in the October 17, 1898 Chicago Tribune, “If all of the
buildings he had constructed were placed side by side they would reach a
distance of thirty miles.”
August Feidler was the principle interior designer of the
Hegeler Carus Mansion. He created the unique parquet flooring designs for each
room of the Mansion as well as the ornately carved woodwork that can be seen on
the decorative mantles, built in furniture and trim on the window and doors
throughout the first floor of the Mansion.
Both Boyington and Fiedler were operating businesses in Chicago
in the 1870’s due to the increase in work available to architects who were
rebuilding Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871.