The Neville Blog

One of the things we are excited about for the Generations Gallery going forward is that the space allows us to make changes and rotate artifacts.  The exhibit opened in August 2020, and we are excited to share we opened our first new rotation last week!  The first rendition of the Art section featured Nature in Art.   Now we are rotating in Portraits.   These depictions of people from all different time periods and backgrounds are all from the Neville Public Museum’s collection.   You might even recognize a few artist or sitters.   Here are 5 things you want to look for!   Fear George Catlin George Catlin (1796-1872), well-known for his paintings of Native Americans, drew a series of self-portraits in 1821. They found their way to Green Bay through his nephew, Theodore Burr Catlin. George Catlin did the self-portraits at night, before a mirror, simulating facial expressions of various emotions. The drawings all have similar facial outlines...

Here at the Neville Public Museum, we care for an extensive doll collection. This collection houses dolls from around the world and even includes some Barbie dolls. The Barbie dolls in our collection range in date from the 1950s through the 1990s. This Barbie was received as a gift from the Neville Public Museum Corporation. It was purchased from Georgia Rankin, a Barbie Doll collector from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in the 1960’s. The black and white swimsuit being worn by the doll is the original outfit traditionally worn by dolls manufactured from 1959-1961. This picture shows one of the newer Barbie dolls in our collection. It is a part of the Hollywood Legends Collection/Collector’s Edition and represents Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. It was a gift from the Neville Public Museum Corporation in 1995. Although both of these dolls are manufactured by the same company, they were created using different materials. This means we have to care for these dolls in different ...

This military coat dates back to the 1840s and belonged to Morgan L. Martin.  Martin held several different posts in Green Bay including Indian Agent, Judge, and Captain of the Green Bay Rangers.  This is Martin’s Green Bay Ranger jacket. The preservation of this artifact is important not only because it belonged to Morgan L. Martin (1805-1887) but also because of its association with the Green Bay Rangers.   Martin came to Wisconsin in 1827 and became a prominent civic leader in the area.   In 1836, Governor of the Wisconsin Territory, Henry Dodge, created an organized militia.   Gov. Dodge claimed that there was danger in the defenseless borders of the territory and that there were threats of armed conflicts with natives.    He proposed that there should be one company of cavalry troops in each territorial county.    March 5, 1837 may have been the first commissioning of a Wisconsin militia field commander as Dodge designated Morgan L. Ma...

In the Generations Gallery, you can get lost in all the stories and artifacts between the mastodon and the 1908 Holsman Car. But the stories untold in the exhibit are even more remarkable. There is one storied blue military coat tucked in a drawer in the Exposed Collections wall. The story of the coat owner's fate is captivating.   Painting of Fort Howard from 1889 by B. Ostertac 189 years ago, Lt. Amos Foster was shot and killed by one of his own soldiers, Private Patrick Doyle.    In February 1832, Doyle was detained in the guardhouse for being drunk and disorderly.    Alcohol consumption was a real problem at Fort Howard, especially since part of the soldier’s rations included two gills of whiskey or rum (the equivalent of four shots today).    After a few days, on February 7, 1832, Doyle persuaded a guard to escort him to Lt. Foster’s quarters to talk to him.   After harsh words and a scuffle, Doyle stole the guard’s musket and killed Lt. Fo...

Last year the museum debuted its exhibit “Guns and Gowns: 200 Years of Fashion and Firearms.” Our women’s fashion collection is expansive dating back to the late 1700s (you can see these dresses in the exhibit too).   While we have a lot of pieces representing fashion in the late 19th century and 20th century, pieces representing the rest of the 19th century are selective.   We do not have many dresses in this mid-19th century style with the hoop skirt.  When we came across the dress with the signature silhouette, plaid silk, and puffy sleeve design, we knew we wanted to find a way to exhibit it.  The dress was donated by Josephine Buchanan Lenfestey in the 1990s. Because of its condition it has not been exhibited since its donation.  The decision was made to send this dress off for conservation to the Midwest Arts Conservation Center in Minneapolis.  Due to the amount of work the dress needed we were aware the dress wouldn’t be ready for the open...