A05.pdf

Attachment 1

Condition Survey for Oil Paintings Longfellow House - Washington's

Headquarters National Historic Site

SCOPE OF WORK

March 21, 2023

1.0 BACKGROUND

2.0 SCOPE

3.0 OBJECTIVES

4.0 TASKS

1.0 BACKGROUND

The purpose of this contract is to conduct a condition survey of the collection of oil paintings in the museum collections of the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

(NHS).

The Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site (NHS) is a National Park Service site located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The park consists of the house at 105 Brattle Street, built in 1759 by Loyalist Major John Vassal, and then subsequently used as headquarters by George Washington during the siege of Boston (July 1775 - March 1776), before becoming the home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his family (1837 - 1950). The site is located in a residential community near the Harvard Square neighborhood of Cambridge.

The contract will engage a professional paintings conservator with experience in treating oil paintings to conduct a condition survey of 178 individual paintings from the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site. Paintings to be surveyed include those on exhibit and in collections storage. Paintings include both framed and unframed works of art. Painting supports include paper, canvas, board, wood, and other surfaces.

The work shall consist of examination, documentation, and individual condition reports for each of the 178 paintings included in the project. Individual condition reports with color images including overall shots and detail images will document each painting’s current condition and conclude with recommendations for future conservation treatment actions, including time estimates for professional conservation treatment. The contractor will produce and deliver the reports, including one hardcopy version and digital files to the Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters NHS.

1.1 HISTORIC BACKGROUND

The house at 105 Brattle Street is a Georgian style mansion constructed in 1759 for the family of John Vassall. The house served as the headquarters of General George Washington for a nine month period spanning from July 1775 to April 1776. In 1837 it became the residence of famed American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who took ownership of the house with his wife Frances Appleton Longfellow in 1843. The house remained in the ownership of the Longfellow family until 1972, when management of the property was assumed by the National Park Service.

The assemblage of oil paintings in the site’s museum collections reflect the artistic tastes and pursuits of varied members of the extended Longfellow family. They include works purchased during family travels, art produced by family members, and works by prominent American and European artists including Albert Bierstadt, George P. A. Healy, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. The artwork also serves as documentation of the extended Longfellow family’s travels, personal relationships with notable artists, and family life.

This project will assist the park in achieving the goal of having up-to-date condition surveys for all areas of the museum collection, as required by the NPS Automated Checklist for Protection and Preservation of Museum Collections question H6, and annual reporting of required baseline museum planning documents.

2.0 SCOPE

Project shall involve the survey, conducted on-site at the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters NHS, of 178 separate oil paintings including the pieces identified by the following NPS catalog numbers:

* LONG 4126 - LONG 4130, LONG 4133 - LONG 4138, LONG 4305 - LONG 4308, LONG 4322 -

LONG 4329, LONG 4331 - LONG 4336, LONG 4399 - LONG 4403, LONG 4437, LONG 4454 -

LONG 4456, LONG 4604 - LONG 4610, LONG 4613, LONG 4619 - LONG 4634, LONG 4642,

LONG 4643, LONG 4701, LONG 4710 - LONG 4712, LONG 4834 - LONG 4839, LONG 4856,

LONG 4912 - LONG 4914, LONG 4953 - LONG 4956, LONG 4966, LONG 5123, LONG 5124,

LONG 5767, LONG 5768, LONG 5779 - LONG 5781, LONG 6049, LONG 6050, LONG 6345 -

LONG 6347, LONG 6349, LONG 6373 - LONG 6377, LONG 6714, LONG 6744 -LONG 6749,

LONG 6769, LONG 6871, LONG 6872, LONG 7186, LONG 7187, LONG 7244, LONG 7485,

LONG 18910, LONG 19619 - LONG 19655, LONG 19661, LONG 19662, LONG 20088 - LONG

20091, LONG 20101, LONG 20102, LONG 20165 - LONG 20167, LONG 20174, LONG 20175,

LONG 20181, LONG 24855, LONG 26662, LONG 27629, LONG 27630, LONG 27924, LONG

36036, LONG 36546, LONG 36549 - LONG 36552.

* A written report will be produced for each work of art surveyed. Reports will include a narrative describing the artwork’s identification, description, condition, damage, specific treatment recommendation, work/time estimate, treatment priority, and photographic images of existing condition and damage. Framing issues that are negatively impacting the artwork will also be noted.

* Some works of art will be required to be inspected in-situ, due to their size, condition, space constraints, and difficulty moving/handling. Other works can be inspected in a workspace located in the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters NHS research room.

3.0 OBJECTIVES

The objective is to provide the park with an up-to-date condition assessment of the oil paintings in the museum collections, which will be used to inform and direct future conservation work necessary to ensure the continued preservation of this important collection.

4.0 TASKS

4.1 Contractor will travel to the Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site and examine on-site 178 oil paintings for condition. Individual reports for each work of art will document current condition, identify existing damage and any ongoing deterioration, and provide recommendations for future conservation treatment, including time estimates of work by a paintings conservator needed for each piece. Each report will include a narrative describing the artwork’s condition, damage, treatment recommendation, work/time estimate, and photographic images of existing condition and damage.

4.2 Contractor will deliver completed reports, in hardcopy (1 copy) and digital format to Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

5.0 PAYMENT INVOICE STRUCTURE

Contractor may propose a payment schedule that includes one installment payment after a certain level of completion. This invoicing event must be clearly definable, such as a 100% completion of a given amount of the paintings. Proposed invoice structure shall be included with quoting documents and will be evaluated for inclusion in contract award details.