About the Curatorial Committee

By Timothy Anderson, Chair

2002

The Terrace Hill Curatorial Committee, a group of seven preservationists, is an example of the axiom “The body is greater than the sum of its parts.” The diversity of expertise and experience ensures all issues will be considered from all angles.

This group’s thoroughness shows up in its accomplishments. One example is the pair of fern-pattern cast-iron benches gracing the lawn. The fern is a documented pattern of iron furniture used at Terrace Hill by the Hubbells. Unfortunately, it is also a very hard pattern to find.

When the Curatorial Committee began the search for pieces, a bench was spotted on the Internet auction site eBay. The reserve price was quite high. However, committee member and antiques enthusiast Ed Stanek kept shopping and located a pair of benches for less money than the single bench on the Internet. With a bit of negotiation, we were able to transport the pair from Ohio directly to Terrace Hill at no additional cost.

The most recent example of the Curatorial Committee at its best happened when the committee turned its attention to the restoration of the over-the-mantel mirror in the dining room. Committee member John Dasher noticed that the black knobs on the pink-marble fireplace were missing. A search of the Terrace Hill Society archives turned up a box of parts and pieces of the missing knobs.

Hoping to get some new knobs fabricated by a stone cutter, the committee ran into a glitch when the knobs were discovered to be cut from Belgian black marble, none of which had been quarried for nearly 100 years. Several Curatorial Committee members spent hours searching for some of the elusive Belgian marble. At a meeting of the group, it was decided that wooden knobs could be fabricated and painted to look like the original marble. Before any action was taken, however, Dasher made a last-resort call to a friend whose uncle had long been in the marble business. Dasher soon delivered a hefty block of the rare Belgian black marble to be fabricated into the missing knobs.

The diversity and expertise of the committee members have allowed the group to accomplish projects more quickly and economically than imagined. Committee members include Mary Atherly, Ames; Phyllis Danks, Pella; John Dasher, Ames; Elaine Estes, Des Moines; Richard Graeme, Council Bluffs; and Ed Stanek, Des Moines.

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