28-04-2025
Art treasure returns to Hartwick College
A 500-year-old painting from the collection at Hartwick College's Yager Museum recently got a facelift.
According to a news release for the college, The Yager Museum of Art & Culture is celebrating as it welcomes one of its Renaissance treasures back from a year's conservation treatment at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center in Massachusetts.
Painted in the early 16th century by Andrea Previtali (ca. 1480-1528), "Madonna and Child in a Landscape" was acquired by the Reverend Louis van Ess, rector of Saint James Episcopal Church in Oneonta and a Hartwick College professor, in the 1950s, the release stated. When van Ess passed away in 1960, he left much of his art collection, including the Previtali, to Hartwick.
"Louis van Ess had collected American impressionist art before coming to Oneonta," museum Coordinator Doug Kendall said. "But in the 1950s, he traveled to Europe several times and purchased a number of Italian Renaissance paintings. Among them were two by Previtali, who was a student of Giovanni Bellini."
"Madonna and Child in a Landscape," painted in oil on a wood panel, has been on display in the van Ess Gallery at the museum for several years. A survey funded with a Conservation Assessment Program grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services found that the wood panel and a wooden cradle added in the 20th century had suffered woodworm damage, according to the release. In addition, the painting's surface had suffered some losses and showed the accumulated dirt and dust of the centuries.
In late 2023, the museum received a grant from the Greater Hudson Heritage Network and contracted with the Williamstown Art Conservation Center to treat and preserve the painting. A partnership between the state Council on the Arts and Greater Hudson Heritage Network), the conservation grant treatment program is made possible with the support of the Office of the Governor and the state Legislature. Over the next year, Williamstown conservators Maggie Barkovic and Tatiana Shannon "painstakingly treated the painting, cleaned it, strengthened the wood panel and varnished it before returning it to the Yager Museum," the release stated.
"It's great to be able to share "Madonna and Child in a Landscape" with the community once again," Kendall said. "We also acknowledge the vital support of both federal and state grants funding for the arts that made the conservation treatment possible that has ensured the preservation of this masterpiece."
The museum will unveil the conserved Previtali painting at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 in the van Ess Gallery as part of the continuing exhibit, "Masterpieces of European and American Art: the Hartwick College Art Treasure Room."
Visitors can also explore the museum's current exhibits, including the new exhibit "Discovering Our Place: Working, Learning, and Playing Within These Hills," curated by students in Hartwick's Museum Studies program.
The museum's regular hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when the college is in session. The museum is closed on Sundays, Mondays, college holidays and when the college is not in session. Admission is free. More information is available through the museum's Facebook page and webpage, by calling 607-431-4480 or emailing kendalld@
