In 2016 the Aberdeen Treasure Hub in Northfield became our long-term store for thousands of museum objects, which we care for on behalf of the people of the city.
This collection is so big that we can’t show it all at once, and we use warehouses to store objects when they’re not on public display.
To help preserve the lifespan of museum items, storage sites should have controlled environmental conditions. However, we don’t just want to preserve history; we want to share it, and Aberdeen Treasure Hub allows us to safeguard museum items while providing access. Pre-lockdown we regularly gave behind-the-scene tours of the building including storerooms, photography studio, workshop and research spaces to school groups, artists, community groups and people from the heritage sector.
We’ve been gradually packing up tens of thousands of objects and moving them out of an old store and transporting them to their new home in Northfield. For a while, Aberdeen Treasure Hub also stored the paintings and historical artefacts that are now on display at Aberdeen Art Gallery. They were transported back to the gallery last year, and this has created space, enabling us to move more precious items into the hub.
We went through an intensive period of collection moves during January and February 2020. Among the items received were more than 1,000 artworks, historic pharmacy jars, models of boats, books and photographs, dolls houses, radios and fishing equipment.
As the hub is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, here are some of the items that have arrived:
1. A Factory in Norway
This painting, which shows the Akerselven river in Norway, was created by the artist Frits Thaulow (1847-1906). His homeland snow scenes were admired not only in Norway but beyond, in Europe and the United States. Thaulow lived in France for a while and was friends with Paul Gauguin – his brother-in-law – and Charles Monet.
A Factory in Norway was donated to us in 1913 by the talented Scottish landscape artist Horatio McCulloch.
2. A Norfolk Landscape
Sir John Arnesby Brown (1866-1955) painted this Norfolk countryside scene in 1912. The framed artwork is large, measuring approx. 195cm high and 220cm wide, and the scale and level of detail make it an impressive work to see in person. Arnesby Brown specialised in landscape painting, particularly pastoral scenes. The work was exhibited in 1912 at the Royal Academy in London then purchased from the artist, using money from the Alexander Macdonald bequest. This bequest can only be used to purchase works no more than 25 years old, and it has helped us build an art collection that represents numerous 20th century periods.
3. Aberdeen Joint Station’s arrivals board
This historical arrivals board came from Aberdeen Joint Station on Guild Street. The first Joint Station was opened in 1867, uniting the Great North of Scotland Railway with the Caledonian Railway and Deeside lines. This was replaced with a new Joint Station, built from 1913. The site was significantly redesigned in the 1970s and 80s and we acquired pieces from the station during that time, including a clerk’s window from the elegant wooden booking office, complete with retractable shutter. Aberdeen Station – the name we know today – was officially given in 1952.
4. BBC control room desk
Here we have a control room desk which was designed and built by the BBC and used at their Beechgrove site in Aberdeen. The desk was constructed in 1963 and used until 1987, when it was replaced with a more powerful system. On the left of this image, you can see a small selection of the toys that are in our collection. Do you recognise any?
We look forward to showing these objects in person when the Treasure Hub re-opens. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @AbdnArtMuseums
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.