Project Name: |
Hillwood Museum and Gardens
Former estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post |
Reopening Date: |
September 26, 2000 (public opening)
September 11, 2000 (press preview) |
Location: |
4155 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington,
D.C.
Overlooking Rock Creek Park |
Renovation and Restoration Project: |
Phase three of an extensive
multi-phase facilities master plan included major structural repair, renovation of the
mansion interiors, conservation of select objects on display, the addition of enhanced
visitor services, and restoration of the estate's landscaped gardens. |
Project Cost: |
$ 9,000,000 |
Collections: |
One of the premier
art collector's house museums in the United States, Hillwood features
Marjorie Merriweather Post's
renowned personal collections of fine and decorative arts, including
the most comprehensive collection of 18th- and 19th-century Russian
imperial art outside of Russia,
and one of the world's most important collections of French decorative
art. |
Collection Highlights: |
Russian:
An 1884 diamond crown worn by Empress Alexandra upon her marriage to
Nicholas II; a comprehensive collection of approximately 80 works
by Carl
Fabergé, including two
imperial Easter eggs; an I.W. Buch gold chalice with diamonds and carved
stones commissioned by Catherine the Great; Russian porcelain from
the 18th-20th centuries from
both imperial and private factories; and a selection of Russian Orthodox
icons and religious objects.
French: An extensive collection of 18th-century French
furnishings, tapestries, and porcelain, including furniture by such masters as Jean-Henri
Riesener and David Roentgen; Sèvres porcelain; objects d'art by Louis Cartier;
and spectacular Beauvais tapestries designed by François Boucher that later inspired
works by Fabergé and Sèvres. |
Mrs. Post's Collecting History: |
Marjorie Merriweather Post
(1887-1973), the only child of cereal magnate C.W. Post, was a pioneer collector who
assembled Russian imperial art long before it was widely recognized in the West. She
acquired the nucleus of her collection while living in Russia during the late 1930s. Prior
to this, in the 1920s, she consulted with Sir Joseph Duveen, a specialist in Old Master
paintings and decorative arts, to expand her French decorative furniture and arts
holdings. As her collections continued to grow in size and importance, Mrs. Post hired
curator and scholar Marvin Chauncey Ross to institute a museum-quality recording system,
publishing program and formalized conservation and acquisitions policies at Hillwood,
which opened to the public in 1977. |
Mansion: |
The Georgian-style Hillwood mansion, originally designed by John Diebert,
features 36 rooms, including an entry hall, Russian porcelain room, French drawing room,
icon room for the Fabergé pieces, pavilion, formal dining room, breakfast room, two
libraries, several bedrooms and a Russian Liturgical Gallery. In 1955, Mrs. Post purchased
Hillwood and hired architect Alexander McIlvaine to enlarge and redesign the mansion to
provide a showcase for her extensive collection. |
Gardens: |
Hillwood's gardens
combine twelve acres of lawns and formal plantings with thirteen
acres of native woodland beyond and
include a circular rose garden; a formal French parterre outside the
drawing room of the mansion; a large crescent-shaped lunar lawn;
a traditional Japanese-style garden and
waterfall representing a mountain landscape in miniature; and a greenhouse
for orchids. |
Restoration Consultant Team: |
Bowie+Gridley Architects
William C. Gridley, FAIA, Principal-in-Charge
Paul R. Lund, AIA, Project Manager
Jonathan Rodvien, AIA, Project Manager
Tom Zacharczyk, Construction Administrator
Hefferan Partnership, Inc.
Steven Hefferan
Oerlein & Associates Architects
Mary L. Oerlein
Realco Project Management Services
Kenneth P. Aultice
Gary Baker
Eileen Ritter & Associates
Eileen Ritter
Staples and Charles, Ltd.
Barbara Fahs Charles
Robert Staples
Richard Williams Architect
Richard Williams, AIA |
Graphic Designer: |
Polly Franchine |
Museum Hours: |
January and March through December; closed February
Tuesdays to Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and select evenings and Sundays. Hillwood is closed
on all national holidays except Veteran’s Day. |
Admission: |
Admission is by reservation only; Adults $10, seniors $8, students with
valid ID and children 6-18 $5 |
Telephone/Fax: |
For reservations please call toll
free 1/877-HILLWOOD, and 202/686-5807; or fax 202/966-7846; or email requests to reservations@hillwoodmuseum.org.
For general information please call 202/686-8500. |
Website: |
www.hillwoodmuseum.org |
Accreditation: |
1997 by the American Association of Museums |
