Ever wonder how things are selected for exhibits-why some objects make it and others don't? Or how the furnishings were chosen in the museum houses? What is the difference between preservation and restoration? Behind the Scenes gives you a peek into museum staff at work.
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A Colorful Past
The Woodruff Print Shop reconstruction has been bricked and roofed; it has windows and stairs. To finish out the interior, one step is painting. And of course, it must be in the 1820s way, with an 1820s color palette—for the most authentic appearance.
Today we are used to uniform, self-leveling coatings that come pre-mixed from a store. In the 1820s, paints were hand-mixed locally from dried pigments and linseed oil. Agents that helped the paint dry, known as ‘
When applied, the paint would exhibit a “ropy” finish, retaining some of the brush strokes. Limited colors were available, with the popular color palette at the time including Prussian blue, straw yellow and chocolate brown. Fireplace mantles were often painted black. Whitewash was a common finish applied to plaster surfaces, like the walls in the print shop.
Custom paints are being manufactured for this project by Historic Paints Ltd. of
Behind the Scenes Archive
