Volunteer Spotlight: Pam and Bryan Clements

Many of you have seen Pam Clements working diligently in the Museum’s gardens, and you may have wondered who she is. Pam heads the garden committee of the Museum, and has a passion for and deep interest in gardening. What most people don’t know is that Pam is a banker, and quite a serious one at that. She works in risk management and assessment for MT Bank, which is headquartered in Buffalo, NY! Fortunately the bank allows her to telecommute, but she does still have to travel to Buffalo on a regular basis.

Why is she in Granville? When her daughter wanted to go to OSU, Pam realized she had no family in New York, her husband was working in Atlanta, and their families were all in Ohio. Accordingly, she negotiated a telecommuting arrangement with the bank and moved to Ohio in 2015 to be closer to family. After carefully looking at central Ohio neighborhoods, she discovered Granville with her daughter, and decided the village was the right fit.

In 2016, Pam’s siblings came for a visit, and they took a tour of the Museum. Their tour was led by the inimitable Becky Dungan, who finished by saying, “So, do you want to volunteer?” Pam didn’t say no. It was Becky that connected Pam to the Granville Garden Club, and through that organization, she began working in the Museum’s gardens in addition to becoming a docent. As work in the garden began to fill her time, she stepped back from regular tours, but still leads them on an as-needed basis. Her first love and passion are the gardens, and readers will often see her on Sundays planting and caring for them. Stop by and say hello as you walk by. Her enthusiasm for her work is infectious.

One of her plans for the 2020 season is to enhance the gardens near the weeping cherry by the west entrance of the Museum with plantings to attract pollinators, be they bees or other insects, birds, or anything else that will help feed and sustain these vital creatures while at the same time showing how integrating the correct plants into a garden only enhances its beauty.

Bryan, who is also originally from Ohio, is in information technology strategic management in the banking industry. His positions often call him away from home, and he was working in Atlanta when Pam made the decision to move to Ohio. He completely agreed with her idea that it would be a good thing to be closer to their families, and joined her here full time in 2017.

Bryan’s interest in the Museum developed when he took one of Becky’s Christmas tours and became interested in the collections. Although he jokes that “my wife made me do it,” he has proven to be invaluable, committed and deeply interested in the Museum. “I believe in the importance of volunteering in a way that celebrates history and helps to inform the present.” Bryan quickly realized that the Museum’s information technology needed to be updated, allowing for the genesis of new technological ideas available in order to reach the broadest audience possible. He has thoroughly assessed the museum’s computers, network, and software and made recommendations and changes to make everything more user friendly, but at the same time secure. Realizing the potential of the new smart television, Bryan has been hard at work to help make the museum more interactive. Stay tuned for developments in that area! 

Both Bryan and Pam feel strongly in the importance of volunteerism as an opportunity to give back in a way that celebrates history while informing the future. Pam’s bank was always an advocate of volunteerism, and she is given time off for every 40 hours of volunteer time. Through their efforts, the couple has become close friends to the Museum and we are grateful to have them.

From the Collections: Emma Stewart

Robbins Hunter, Jr., called this painting his most important piece. Looking at her, it is easy to understand why. The strong pyramidal shape, with the lighting focused on her neck and shoulders, the vivid blue of her wrap and the delicate lace of her dress, all against a dark background, Emma Stewart gazes directly and intently at the viewer and, by extension, the artist. Her complexion, with a delicate, feminine blush on her cheeks, suggests her youth and recalls the first blush of love. That the subject was the bride of the artist, and it was painted shortly after their marriage, makes the viewer feel an intimate sense of the couple’s affection for one another.

Mary Emma Stewart (1835-1889), known throughout her life as Emma, was the first wife of an artist with the wonderful name of Eliphalet Frazer Andrews. The couple was married in 1857, when they were both 22 years old: Emma was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1835 and Andrews was born in Steubenville, Ohio in 1835. He graduated from Marietta College and the Royal Prussian Academy in Berlin and finished his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before returning to Ohio where the couple married.

Following the election of Andrews’ friend Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency in 1877, the couple moved to Washington, D.C.

Most noted as a portrait painter, several of his images are now in the White House, including posthumous full-length portraits of Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Johnson. Other portraits hang in the Capitol Building. Andrews did not limit himself to portraits, and fourteen of his paintings, including interior and nature studies, as well as landscapes, are held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The images came to the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery (formerly the Corcoran Gallery of Art) after the Corcoran was dissolved in 2014 by court order.

Andrews’ connection to the Corcoran came about in 1878 when he was hired by William Wilson Corcoran to establish what would become the Corcoran School of Art and design, a post he held until 1902. Originally, Andrews taught students visiting the Corcoran Gallery. Corcoran, realizing the importance of what Andrews was doing, donated the funding to formally establish the school which was to be associated with the gallery. The school was founded for the purpose of “encouraging American Genius.” After Corcoran’s death in 1888, a small building was built for the expressed purpose of housing the school. Under Andrews’ tenure, the school greatly expanded the scope of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the oldest and largest non-federal art museum in Washington, through the encouragement of young, talented artists. Many of the “new” artists’ paintings were accessioned into the collections of the Gallery.

In 1902, Andrews then became the director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which had become a major center of American art, both historic and contemporary. With its extensive collection of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century American art, the Gallery represented the most significant American artists but it also had a fine collection of European art. Andrews continued Corcoran’s philosophy of encouraging modern and American artists by showing and purchasing their work. Andrews began the Corcoran’s “Biennial” exhibitions, which highlighted young artists.

You can enjoy seeing Emma Stewart beginning in April when the museum will open the exhibition “A Collection of Treasures.” Interestingly, another painting will hang in the exhibition that has a direct relationship to Andrews and the Corcoran. It is the museum’s Carl Springer untitled snow scene. This painting was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery Biennial in 1916, a year after Andrews’ death. Whether the two men knew one another is a puzzle currently being researched.

Plaque on back of Carl Springer snow scene

Emma Stewart Andrews died in 1889 and was buried in Steubenville. E.F. Andrews died in 1915, his body was returned to Ohio, where he was buried in Steubenville beside Emma.

President’s Letter

In December, the Museum was visited by a record number of visitors including the 3750 people who came on the one day of the Candlelight Walking Tour. People came to bring their children to see Santa, to see the fabulous gingerbread houses, and, always a favorite, to see the wonderful Christmas trees put up by the dedicated volunteers of the Robbins Hunter museum. A special favorite among the trees, moved into the Sitting Room this year, was the 1950’s themed tree with its bubble lights. Scores of visitors waiting to see the gingerbread houses commented that they remembered the lights from their childhood.

The search for the new Executive Director is well underway, with several interesting candidates. We hope to have an announcement soon.

As we move forward into 2020, we have a number of exciting and fun programs planned, including three Victoria Woodhull: Phoenix Rising round tables, the Garden Stroll and Garden Soiree, the Woman of Achievement Award celebration, the Scarecrows and, of course, the 2020 Christmas Candlelight Walking Tour.

This summer, the Museum’s collection of Clarence White photographs will be featured in a joint exhibition at The Works and the Columbus Museum of Art. The importance of White in the history of photography cannot be underestimated. He was self-taught, but with an eye that attracted the attention of the nation’s great photographers. Alfred Stieglitz came to Newark to meet him after seeing one of his images in an exhibition, and together the two brought the world of photography to Licking County. The pair hosted two exhibitions, one in 1898 and the other in 1899, that were held at the Newark YMCA. The shows featured an array of the vanguard of photography at the time. I encourage you to attend both The Works’ and Columbus Museum of Art’s exhibitions to learn more about the man who is credited as the teacher of Edward Steichen, Margaret Bourke-White, and Dorothea Lange. You will not be disappointed.

I am particularly pleased to be able to announce that we have three exciting new membership benefits:

·       A 10% discount at Alfie’s Wholesome Food

·       A 10% discount at Just WRITE

·       Reciprocal arrangements with over a thousand museums nationwide that members can visit for free or at a reduced admission, including discounts in the museum cafes and gift shops

These benefits are in addition to all that we have offered in the past, which, depending on your membership level, include discounts on rentals of our spaces, and, of course 221 Broadway East.

Speaking of rental spaces, the wonderful Octagon room can now be rented for intimate dinner parties, luncheons, teas, or even business meetings. This is through the generosity and hard work of board member Kevin Kerr, who has done an outstanding job of preparing the room for this use. I can literally say that people who see this space gasp. The room can be rented on a do-it-yourself basis or we can handle everything for you.

2020 promises to be an exciting year, jam packed with programming and fun events. I look forward to seeing all of you as we get ready to open the doors in April.

Annual Report for 2019

2019 was an eventful year at the Museum through programs, tours, and our efforts to maintain the Museum and the gardens for you and future generations to enjoy. One collaboration that proved to be particularly positive for the community was the Music4U! concerts held for free in the gardens by members of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. The Daffodil Stroll was a resounding success. All of these programs we offer to help offset the ongoing need to support the maintenance of the Museum building, collections, and garden.

Thanks to the terms of Robbins Hunter, Jr.’s will, together with the efforts of the founding governors of the Museum, a trust fund was developed that offsets what are our highest costs: staff salaries. This fund supports our staff through a percentage of the income earned by it. Therefore, no contributed dollars or earned revenue has been used to pay salaries for our employees. The Museum receives approximately 5% of the income from the investment of the trust and the rest is reinvested under the terms of the agreement. We, the board, cannot change or alter that agreement in any way because it was established under the terms of Robbins Hunter, Jr.’s will.  

The trust fund, however, does not fund maintenance of the historic Avery-Downer House, nor does it support collections, programming or operations. For these purposes we rely on contributions, memberships, and earned revenue from our programming.

We are enormously grateful for those of you who do contribute, either in time or money or both. Every dollar given counts towards the continued operations of the Museum and ensures that the legacy continues for future generations to enjoy.

Even though programming does provide revenue, no programs we offer are funded by the operating budget of the Museum. By board vote, all programs must be self-funded, so organizers understand they need to plan and project the program’s needs and account for those costs and revenue. This requires our committees to do a bit of business planning and fund-raising on their own to make sure the program enhances our mission. For example, the Phoenix Rising round table discussions are entirely self-funded and any surplus left over at the end of this year (and the program’s end) will revert to the operating budget. The Jill Griesse gardens are also funded independently of our operating budget, so no operating funds, unless allocated by a donor for the gardens, are expended in that area. We feel this is the most responsible and transparent way to handle donated funds.