At the November meeting, we will have a guided tour of the Conservation Studio at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which has one of the largest collections of furniture in the US. Christine Storti, Head of Furniture Conservation at the MFA, will provide a tour or her studio and overview of their restoration techniques. The tour will focus on restoration of an early 20th c. carved Torah ark that stood in a synagogue in Chelsea MA, and crafted by a prolific maker who specialized in such objects. The photo below shows a large gilded rampant lion that was featured on the ark.
For more information about the studio and the work they do, visit https://www.mfa.org/collections/conservation/division_furnitureframelab.
Please take note of some unusual aspects of this monthly meeting:
The MFA opens to the public at 10:00 AM. Soon we will designate a gathering point; plan to arrive at the museum between 9:20 and 9:45.
The size of the studio limits tour groups to 12 people at a time. If we have a good turnout, we'll break into smaller groups. While one group is in the studio with Christine, others can tour the museum. Christine tells us that she will be able to accommodate 4 groups.
As always, the event is free to EMGW members. Be sure to have your EMGW card with you.
IMPORTANT: Guild members who are also current MFA members are entitled to free entry, and those with Family or higher-level Memberships can also bring a guest. Please check the status of your MFA membership if you have one and bring the MFA card with you as well. By showing your MFA member card you reduce the cost of your admission to EMGW. To facilitate entry of our group it will be very helpful to know who the MFA members are; the eventual cost to the EMGW will be reduced if we can verify MFA membership.
Hence, we're asking for prior registration (ending at 11:59 PM on Friday Nov 3) to indicate if you expect to come. Once 48 members register, a waiting list will open.
If you are a member of the MFA, please go online to MFA.org to confirm or renew. If you're an MFA member, please respond to the "MFA Members only" question on the registration form. If you have questions, please email Mike Roughan (michael.p.roughan@gmail) or Rob Carver (robert.carver@comcast.net) so we can have as accurate a count as possible.
COVID: The current museum policy about illness says "Safety Protocols: If you or a guest are unwell on the day of your visit or are quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19, we ask that you stay home and contact the MFA at tickets@mfa.org or 1-800-440-6975 for assistance with rescheduling your visit."
Furniture and Frame Conservation Laboratory | Museum of Fine Arts Boston (mfa.org)
