A year to remember

The Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern, Pa., celebrated its 50th anniversary, received a $130,000 matching grant, and was featured on a Craft in America: HOME episode of PBS in 2022.

The Save America’s Treasures Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences will fund the conservation of the museum’s works on paper collection, including sketches, watercolors, and prints by Wharton Esherick (1887-1970), a founder of the studio furniture movement.

“We are actively working on a multi-year planning process to transform the areas for collection storage, internal operations, and visitor engagement at the museum as part of our proposed campus expansion plan,” Julie Siglin, the museum’s executive director, said in a statement. “The Save America’s Treasures Grant will allow us to improve our collection’s long-term stability and allow for greater public access of these rich archives.”

The preservation is scheduled to be completed over a three-year period in partnership with the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts and will involve a combination of conservation treatment and archival rehousing for 90 watercolors, 80 prints, six pastels, and numerous sketches including a 36’ sketch scroll.

The HOME episode, which premiered on Dec. 16, 2002, featured Esherick’s home and studio.

“Esherick considered his home to be his autobiography. Anyone who walks through the doors of his studio can feel the unconventional and joyful creative impulse he brought to every aspect of his life, added Siglin.

For more, visit whartonesherickmuseum.org. 

This article was originally published in the March 2023 issue.