Fascinating look behind the scenes of the Godman Exhibition

Museum volunteer and Friend Rick Domas chatted to Assistant Curator George Graham about how the recent Frederick DuCane Godman Exhibition was put together.

The highly-regarded and successful Frederick DuCane Godman: The Legacy of a Collector exhibit ended its four-month run at the Horsham Museum and Art Gallery in late September 2023.

According to George Graham, Assistant Curator and the primary curator of the exhibit, it was well-received judging by remarks left in the exhibit’s comment book.

I sat down recently with George to discuss not the exhibit itself but behind-the-scenes issues: the planning and logistics that went into organising and mounting the show.

The exhibit consisted of numerous letters, photographs and other items from the Godman archive on long-term loan to the museum, in addition to items from three private individuals and three British institutions: The British Museum (ceramic plates), The British Ornithologists’ Union (Godman Salvin Medal), and the Royal Society (election certificate signed by Charles Darwin).

That such esteemed institutions were willing to loan objects to a small regional museum speaks volumes to the scholarship and curatorship underpinning the Godman exhibit.

But such loaned objects just don’t appear; they have to be selected, packed, transported, mounted, secured and maintained during the exhibit.

At the end of the exhibit, the sequence is repeated, as the items are dismounted, packed, transported back to their respective institutions or individual lenders, unpacked, and carefully inspected for damage.

Take the simple act of transporting a loaned object from Point A to Point B, for instance. George noted that The British Museum maintains its own pre-approved list of qualified movers and requires one or more of these movers be used.

A Request for Proposal was prepared by the museum staff, submitted to a number of listed movers, and a mover subsequently selected. The institutions packed and unpacked their respective loaned objects, and even designed, in consultation with George and Nikki Caxton, the Horsham Museum Curator, the mounts for the items.

A representative of The British Museum accompanied the loaned items in the moving van in both directions. The Friends of Horsham Museum assisted in funding transport of the loaned Items.

Next, consider the mounting of the artifacts and items, which too come with standards for display within a controlled, secure environment.

Prior to agreeing to loaning the election certificate, a representative of The Royal Society came out to the museum and inspected first-hand the museum and proposed exhibit room.

Several loaned documents were light-sensitive, requiring museum staff to take weekly light readings via a light meter. Required levels for temperature and humidity had to be met and maintained as well.

Even the plinths in the display cases, specially modified as a donation by Croydon-based setWorks (Horsham resident Andy Turnbull, Director), a major fabricator and supplier of bespoke cabinetry and displays for art, museums and exhibitions, had to be painted (three coats!) of a special paint to minimize off-gassing which could affect the artifacts, with special safety glass and a double locking system installed.

Whew! And the bulk of this planned within six months, roughly half the time required for mounting an exhibit of this size and scholarship!

George credits the experience of Nikki, the supporting work of Helen Leary, Visitor Services Officer, the hard work of multiple parties, the Godman family and major lenders, and the pre-planning of Jeremy Knight, the former curator of the Horsham Museum.

So, next time you view an exhibit at the Horsham Museum or elsewhere, consider the extensive behind-the-scenes work and effort required to mount such an exhibit.

Those paintings, drawings, documents, items, artifacts, and so forth just don’t show up! Kudos to George, Nikki, Helen and the many others who contributed to a wonderful exhibit.