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THE SLOANE COLLECTION “The spending of large sums in the development of interest in the arts and sciences is an occurrence of more than aesthetic significance. We are living in a museum age and we must not be slow to recognize it.”
William and Florence K. Sloane amassed their collection over a fifty year period and assembled it in an informal manner throughout their 42 room home. 5,000 years of art harmoniously blends with the hand carved oak, walnut and teak interior of the galleries. Among the over 2,800 objects in the Sloane Collection are a Neolithic jade cong, ancient Chinese ceremonial bronzes and mingqi (tomb figures), Indian Chola bronze statues, Spanish religious icons and furniture, European ceramics and paintings, hand painted glass windows from Germany, and American paintings and sculptures. The Sloane Collection is truly a celebration of the Arts and Crafts Movement in America. In continuing with the Arts and Crafts traditions, the Sloanes employed master craftsmen from Europe to complete the building process of their riverside mansion. Most deeply involved was English woodcarver Charles J. Woodsend, who worked on the premises for over twenty years hand-carving and installing the intricate interior paneling. Karl von Rydingsvard, a Swedish artist and master craftsman, collaborated with Woodsend on a variety of projects, including the entire dining room suite. A third artisan, M. F. McCarthy, inscribed several quotations into the lintels of the central house, including St. Thomas Aquinas’ famous definition of Art: “Art is simply the Right Method of doing Things… The Test of an Artist does not lie in the Will with which he goes to Work, but in the Excellence of the work which he Produces.” During the first half of the 20th Century, Florence and William Sloane entertained many noted artists at "Hermitage" and avidly collected their work. Their home today is filled with the artwork of many of these friends and contemporaries including: Douglas Volk, Helen M. Turner, Hariett W. Frishmuth, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Charles Hawthorne, Adolph Weinman, Hovsep Pushman, George Wharton Edwards, George de Forest Brush, Edwin McCarten, Stephen Reid, Frederick Waugh, Nicholas Fechin, Eugene Fichel, Edwin Howland Blaschfield, Minna Citron, Sir Edwin James Poynter, George Gardner Symons, Peggy Summerville, and James Jacques Tissot. On display to the public since 1937, the Hermitage continues to serve the Sloane’s original purpose: “to encourage the development of Arts and Crafts and to promote the study and understanding of Art as a living and progressive influence in the consciousness of the public.” Help us Preserve this Amazing Collection of Art. Click Here to learn about the Mend Our Broken Art conservation program and annual exhibition.
The Hermitage Foundation Museum
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