Chambana Sun

Krannert Art Museum has reopened its Kinkead Pavilion after an 18-month renovation. The reopening event took place on August 28, welcoming visitors back to the updated Bow Gallery. As preparations were underway, two significant paintings were not immediately present in the gallery: William Harper’s "Dusk" (1906) and Osvaldo Louis Guglielmi’s "The Mill Hands" (1937). Both works had been sent to Chicago for conservation treatment.

Harper’s "Dusk," which was gifted to the museum by William Van Hagey in 1998, is now displayed below Winslow Homer’s "Cernay la Ville—French Farm" (1867). The two paintings share themes of rural landscapes, encouraging viewers to find beauty in their own surroundings.

Curator Katie Koca Polite explained that Harper, a Black Canadian artist, likely painted "Dusk" during his second trip to Europe, where he studied informally with Henry Ossawa Tanner. Guglielmi’s painting was created as part of a New Deal arts initiative and is now exhibited alongside other pieces representing laborers from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. Koca Polite wrote that Guglielmi “explored the complex relationship between workers and the industries that employed them,” inviting contemporary audiences to reflect on similar issues today.

Conservation work was essential for displaying both paintings. According to Kim Sissons, the museum's collection manager, a varnish applied long ago to "Dusk" had discolored over time and obscured the image. The painting also suffered from paint loss and abrasions. In contrast, "The Mill Hands," which had not been varnished and had spent years hanging in campus offices before coming to the museum in 1961, showed signs of canvas brittleness and distortion along with scratches and missing paint.

A Chicago-area conservation firm was enlisted by museum staff to examine both artworks and recommend appropriate treatments. Conservators worked closely with staff members to ensure that restoration efforts would allow public access while preserving these works for future generations.

Peter Mortensen, interim director of Krannert Art Museum, authored an article detailing these conservation efforts in the News-Gazette.