Research

2. With an eye to restoration and designation as National Register properties, research is being done on the horse and hay barns that are part of the historic farm complex of the museum. Both barns are important examples of their types and periods. The elder of the two is the horse barn, which pre-dates the Popes' creation of Hill-Stead. The three-bay layout, side entrance, and peaked roof identify this timber-framed building as an "English" bank barn, one of the oldest and most traditional of New England barn types. The three-bay plan derived from the English Colonial grain-barn model, in which the central bay was used for threshing and the side bays for grain storage. The combination of hand-hewn and circular-sawn timbers and the square-rule joints suggests the horse barn dates from the third quarter of the 1800s or possibly earlier.

Set perpendicular to the horse barn, the hay barn was a new addition by the Popes and represented an advanced design for its time. The barn's distinguishing exterior feature is its gambrel-roof profile. Before the late 1800s, the gambrel roof was far rarer for Connecticut barns than the peaked gable of the English barn, partly because of the complexity of framing the double pitch with timbers. The type, which allowed added hayloft space without increasing the side-wall height, became prevalent when lightweight trusses were introduced in the first decades of the 1900s. Designed in consultation with McKim, Mead & White, the Pope hay barn, however, employed a more expensive and complex timber frame. The framing reflected a specific request of Theodate, who was after an "old fashioned" effect and specified an open loft at the center of the barn and "the large timber construction used in old barns." (Documented in correspondence between Theodate Pope and Egerton Swartwout dated October 28, 1898 and November 3, 1898.)

3. Hill-Stead's part time Garden Manager and garden volunteers are continually researching ways to make the Sunken Garden planting plan as accurate to the c. 1920 Beatrix Farrand plan as possible, incorporating appropriate substitutions where necessary from year to year. The first sunken garden was featured in magazines in 1901 and 1910. Sometime between 1916 and 1920, Beatrix Farrand redesigned the garden plantings. One of the most highly acclaimed female landscape architects of her generation, Farrand is known for designing the grounds at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, and the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. For Hill-Stead, Farrand devised a color palette inspired by the French Impressionist artworks in the house. Owing to a shortage of staff around the time of World War II, the paths and hedges were removed and the garden reverted to lawn. In 1986, the beds were re-planted to Farrand's specifications (it is not known for certain if the Beatrix Farrand plan had actually been implemented prior to its 1980s installation).

4. Other areas of research include: rehanging of select paintings to more accurately reflect the way Alfred Atmore Pope and Theodate Pope Riddle lived with the artworks, based on archival photographs and postcards; research into Hill-Stead's Asian collections, household linens, and the works of select artists such as Sir William Nicholson; and archival research into the Pope family's interest in spiritualism, their travels on the European Grand Tour, and the women who visited Hill-Stead, for the purposes of special themed tours and accompanying archival exhibitions in 2010.

Education

Hill-Stead's Summer Nature and Arts Adventure for children premiered in July 2007, featuring resources outside the house and collections indoors. The Hartford Student Poetry Outreach writing workshops for under-served urban teens, located both in Hartford schools and on museum grounds, deliver cognitive, aesthetic and emotional value, and most importantly, foster self-esteem. Additionally, with their emphasis on the heritage of the local community, inner-city workshops provide socio-cultural value. Adult writing workshops, guide training, internships and horticultural activities meet consumer demand for inventive arts participation, another core value.

HSM is constantly in dialogue with sister organizations and participates in professional conferences to stay current with educational trends and ideas. HSM staff attend the CT Art Museum Educators Roundtable, which meets quarterly and provides educators a chance to exchange ideas, concerns and successes. Resources such as the New England Museum Association and HOT (Higher Order Thinking) Schools present ideas for arts-based curriculum and opportunities for professional development.

HSM offers reduced admission fees for students and Hartford Student Poetry Outreach participants, as well as a Library Pass program.

Promotion

• The new HSM Facebook page has drawn 228 "fans" since its inception a few months ago, and the new HSM nature blog (http://hillsteadblog.wordpress.com/) has attracted 2,500 visitors this year worldwide.
• Advertising and public relations firm Mintz & Hoke created for the 2nd year in a row, pro bono, a dynamic new look to all Sunken Garden Poetry & Music Festival promotion materials, with special appeal to the younger generation. We leveraged the events by cross-promoting and distributing membership, donor, and program promotional and making our 2009 calendar of activities widely available.
• HSM sends monthly e-mail blasts to our email constituency database (now close to 6,000 strong), linking to our web pages. Through our email marketing company, eblasts are tracked.
• The HSM website now has e-commerce options for donations, membership payments, and event ticket purchases. The web homepage directs users to the next big upcoming event.
• HSM's graphically-branded four-season program brochure is distributed by CTM Media Group at Connecticut and NYC cultural outlets, as well as at Bradley International Airport through Interspace Airport Advertising.
• HSM participates in Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day, offering free tours subscribers one day each year in exchange for one-time use of 5,000 names from their mailing list for our year-long programs brochure. In three years, we have gone from 20 to 106 visitors to this program.
• HSM met with the CT Forest and Park Association to discuss becoming a partner in its new WalkCT program, whose goal is to improve public health by encouraging residents to take advantage of trails and pathways around the state to be featured on a new CTFPA database.
• To broaden participation, HSM continues to use targeted mailing lists: 1,500 garden and landscape enthusiasts; 310 Latino/Latina community members; 1,750 poetry participants; 4,000 Connecticut educators; 59 libraries; and 95 arts-and-culture sites.
• HSM participates in several discount programs and travel packages: AAA Discount package (2-for-1 admission); CT Commission's "Staycation" promotion (2-for-1 admission); "Enjoy the City" coupon book for Farmington Valley (2-for-1 admission); the Entertainment Book (2-for-1 admission); GHAC's "Let's Go Arts" promotion (2-for-1 admission); The Taste Dining and Activity Book (2-for-1 admission); collaborative offer by HSM, New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Children's Museum (buy one, see other two at 1/2 price); CT Explorers coupons for organizaiton partners of CT Explored magazine, formerly Hog River Journal, (buy one, get one free); and BigY's seasonal coupon booklets ($1 off admission price). Travel packages include CT Art Trail online Art Pass ($25 for 15 museums across the state); Art Lovers Getaway Package (one-night package with Farmington Inn, including Piccolo Arancio restaurant, Farmington); Farmington Historical Package (one-night package with Centennial Inn, Farmington, including the Stanley-Whitman House and The Grist Mill Restaurant, Farmington).
• HSM reaches out to "cultural consumers of the future" by hosting Inter-district Multicultural Education-through-the-Arts days serving six area towns and cities, including underserved children in New Britain and Bristol.