Existing comment:
PRESERVING HERITAGE FOR THE FUTURE:
The Smithsonian's earliest collections included thousands of ethnological objects from the U.S. Exploring or Wilkes Expedition and the historical relics collections, associated with the founding of the United States. The Smithsonian's collections grew enormously with acquisitions from the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 and the building of the U.S. National Museum (today's Arts + Industries Building). Conservation standards of the time were woefully inadequate, though -- when the Star-Spangled Banner came to the Smithsonian in 1907, it was actually hung outdoors on the facade of the Castle!
In 1932, the Freer Gallery of Art established the Smithsonian's first conservation studio, which evolved into its Department of Conservation and Scientific Research. Over the decades, the Smithsonian developed its Museum Conservation Institute, the Lunder Conservation Center, and studios and labs in most museums. Recently, the Smithsonian has worked with partner organizations to save cultural heritage endangered by natural disasters and human conflict. This has included trips to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, to Iraq following ISIS terrorism, and across the United States following regional floods and hurricanes. With heritage increasingly at risk due to conflict and climate change, the Smithsonian works to preserve endangered artistic and cultural treasures for the benefit of future generations of storytellers. Photo credits Top: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Bottom: Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives. |