Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library received a $425,000 federal challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and raised an additional $1,275,000 to endow a key leadership position that has just been named the Charles F. Hummel Director of Conservation.
Hummel, who rose to senior deputy director of Winterthur in 1989, began his career at Winterthur in 1958 as assistant curator. As an adjunct full professor for the University of Delaware, he still teaches graduate students and conducts research at Winterthur, where he remains curator emeritus.
The grant and match funding are part of Winterthur's $50 million Building on Strength Campaign.
Hummel's milestones include the creation of the Scientific Advisory Committee (which helped pioneer the use of scientific techniques on material culture research), the 1969 establishment of the Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory, and the 1970s founding of the Winterthur/UD Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). On the national level, he convened a 1973 meeting at Winterthur that led to the creation of the National Conservation Advisory Council and the National Institute for Conservation, now known as Heritage Preservation.
"Hummel's dedication to Winterthur, scholarship in the decorative arts, and the museum field are unparalleled," said Museum Director David P. Roselle. "His long service to Winterthur has been an inspiration to museum professionals, and he is highly respected both here at Winterthur and throughout the country."
Recognition beyond Winterthur includes appointment by President Clinton to the National Museum Services Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In addition, in 2012, Hummel received the Allied Professional Award from the American Institute for Conservation and the Award for Distinguished Service to Museums from the American Alliance of Museums. He received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the University of Delaware in 2013.
His major books, considered landmarks in the field, include “With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton,” “A Winterthur Guide to American Chippendale Furniture” and with co-author Beatrice Garvan “The Pennsylvania Germans: A Celebration of Their Arts, 1683-1850.”
Hummel's respect for conversation and what conservators could bring to object research encouraged a collegial relationship between curators and conservators that became a model for generations of students. Lois Olcott Price, Winterthur director of conservation, said that Hummel exemplifies creative collaboration between various professions.
"He is a role model for thoughtful management and lifelong professional development," said Olcott Price. "He remains engaged with ongoing research, including new treatment techniques and development of the growing role of conservation in cultural institutions."
The endowment funding will also allow Winterthur to create a new post-graduate fellowship program in conservation. Winterthur's decision to endow this position is part of the long-range plan to invest in its intellectual leadership, advance Winterthur's role in conservation education and research, and expand the preservation and interpretation of humanities collections at Winterthur, throughout the United States, and increasingly the world.
Winterthur's Conservation Department manages, preserves, assesses, and treats collection objects; teaches students in WUDPAC, the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and other programs; oversees collection emergency and preventive conservation plans that have become models for other cultural institutions; conducts research in conservation, material culture, and art history; disseminates results of that research; and provides state-of-the-art scientific analysis to resolve curatorial and conservation questions for collections at Winterthur and other institutions.
Endowment of the director of conservation will guarantee that Winterthur remains competitive in attracting and maintaining the most highly-qualified leaders in conservation while expanding its fundamental educational and research activities. While the director of conservation is central to Winterthur, the impact is far broader in the rapidly changing world of cultural heritage preservation. Examples include the many WUDPAC graduates in leadership positions throughout the U.S. and increasing numbers of cultural heritage sites abroad, contributions to national and international preservation and training programs in underserved areas, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S. and training programs in China and Iraq, and the development of instrumental analytical techniques that have become standard practice in museum laboratories throughout the world.
NEH supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities by funding top-rated competitive, peer-reviewed proposals. At an annual cost of about 50 cents per capita, NEH brings high-quality historical and cultural experiences to large and diverse audiences in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories.
To learn more, visit www.winterthur.org.