Penske McCormack and Gabriella Victorio, Dodd undergraduates majoring in Art History, have spent their summer preparing fine and decorative arts objects for display at the Georgia Museum of Art in the upcoming exhibition One Heart, One Way: The Journey of a Princely Art Collection. Curated by Professor of Art History and Parker Curator of Russian Art Asen Kirin, the exhibition opens on July 21 and features the Belosselsky-Belozersky Collection, a promised gift of Marina Belosselsky-Belozersky Kasarda to the museum.

Victorio has been interning with the Registration Department at the Georgia Museum of Art for two semesters, gaining experience in all aspects of the museum field, including art handling, database management, and object condition reporting. McCormack joined Victorio this summer for a conservation-focused internship centered on the Belosselsky-Belozersky Collection.

Kirin’s research has found that pieces from the Belosselsky-Belozersky Collection have not been on public display since 1870 and 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. “Several of the works that are now at the Georgia Museum of Art have never been published or seen outside their owners’ home,” Kirin says. This provided an excellent opportunity for McCormack and Victorio to give the silver, brass, and enamel objects from the collection some extra attention for their first museum presentation. Although the objects have been well maintained, metal corrodes over time and always requires some cleaning prior to display. Under the guidance of the Registration Department, they increased their preservation cleaning knowledge and skills.

Victorio’s favorite piece in the exhibition is a silver relief of Prince Alexander Mikhailovich, shown above. “It was the first piece I cleaned, and it showed me how rewarding the process can be because it revealed the original appearance of the piece.”

“This internship has been so valuable because it gave me hands-on experience with the art I learned about in Professor Kirin’s Russian Art class,” Victorio says. “I am so thankful to have received a well-rounded education here that has prepared me to pursue a career in an art museum.”

Read more about the promised gift of Marina Belosselsky-Belozersky Kasarda to the Georgia Museum of Art here.

Read more about the One Way: The Journey of a Princely Art Collection exhibition here.