Director's Note: Recent Improvements Serve Visitors and Collections

Over the winter, we completed the much-needed refurbishment of several galleries at George Eastman House. The improvements are dramatic.

In the South, Brackett Clark, and Annex galleries, we replaced the carpeting for the first time since our gallery and archive building was constructed in 1989. These three connected galleries now have matching flooring, which provides a smoother transition between them. The Brackett Clark space was enhanced by covering or removing elements, such as doors and fixtures, that are no longer in use.

Not merely a cosmetic improvement, the new movable walls within the galleries are much safer and easier for our exhibition installation staff to use, and they provide more versatility to curators and exhibition designers. Glass doors have been installed at the entrance to the Annex Gallery to enable better climate control in all three of these galleries.

The North Gallery is also being revitalized. After a decade, the exhibition Machines of Memory: Cameras from the Technology Collection concluded on March 30. This gallery has been closed during April for refurbishment. On May 9, it will become the History of Photography Gallery, featuring photographs and cameras from our collection. The first installation will be curated by Lisa Hostetler, curator-incharge of our Department of Photography. See page 5 for more information about this exciting exhibition program.

We have made all of these changes to better serve you, our members and visitors, and provide a better environment for objects on display. We are deeply grateful for the tremendous generosity of Bruce Bates, as well as Janet Reed and two anonymous donors, who funded the gallery refurbishments.

Bruce Barnes, Ph.D.
Ron and Donna Fielding Director
May/June 2014 Bulletin