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Archives on the trail of... The Holden Gallery
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Holden Gallery (Gallery Number 4), 1916.
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The planning and construction of Cleveland's temple of the
arts was a major undertaking involving strong personalities, politics and
money. One of the major players in this endeavor was Liberty Holden, owner
of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a Yankee who had made his fortune in the
silver mines of Utah. This success enabled Mr. Holden to purchase a portion
of a collection of Italian old masters paintings. Mr. Holden was chairman
of the art museum building committee until ill health forced his resignation
in 1910. Although Mr. Holden passed away in 1913, his wife and children
remained friends of the museum. The widow Holden retained the collection
of Italian paintings which the museum was anxious to have donated. Prior
to World War One it was generally felt that old master paintings were firmly
ensconced in European museums and private collections, well beyond the reach
of American museums. The Holden collection represented something of a coup
if the Cleveland museum could get its hands on it. Competition for the collection
came from the Metropolitan Museum. Mrs.Holden had a close relationship with
Henry Kent, the Metropolitan's assistant secretary, who flattered her unashamedly.
He was also working as an advisor to Cleveland's building committee. Fortunately
he realized that the Holden collection was better served in Cleveland and
made no all out assault on Mrs. Holden on behalf of the Met. Frederick Whiting,
director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, was advised on how to approach
Mrs. Holden by her daughter, Roberta Bole. She suggested the best way to
get the collection was by not mentioning it at all.
In spite of having no guarantee that the Holden collection would be donated
to the museum, the building committee hired New York architect Arthur Harmon
to design an opulent period room in which to house the collection. As Mrs.
Holden had yet to donate the collection, the architect and construction
companies were admonished to refer to the room as "gallery number six"
so that the tender negotiations would not be revealed and possibly thwarted.
The $15,000 cost to design and build the room was staggering for the time.
Portions of the room's architectural detailing were cast directly from the
Borgia apartments at the Vatican. The floor was designed and installed by
the Pewabic Pottery Company of Michigan, a leading provider of art tiles
which were popularized by the Arts and Crafts movement. Harmon's design
called for brown velvet to be hung on the walls. During installation a conflict
erupted between Frederick Whiting and Harmon over the consistency of the
color of the velvet panels. Whiting insisted they didn't match. Harmon postulated
that the installers may have hung some of the panels upside down. Contentious
letters were exchanged until carefully dyed panels were hung to Whiting's
satisfaction.
As time passed the period room concept of museum installation faded. In
1956 the ceiling of the Holden gallery was removed to accommodate fire exit
stairwells in the floor above. The brown velvet that stirred so much debate
was long since gone. The only thing remaining of the once grand room was
the decorative floor. When plans for the current renovation called for the
removal of the floor, archives intervened. We now not only have photographic
documentation and architectural drawings of the Holden gallery but select
decorative pieces of the Pewabic tile floor safely and lovingly stored away
as evidence of the museum's early commitment to the careful exhibition of
a valued collection.
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