During the January closure, the Collections and Curatorial team refreshed the display on the kidney-shaped table in Marjorie Post’s dressing room. The updated arrangement showcases a carefully curated selection of objects from Post’s workstation. View the updated display and object list here.  

On March 10, Hillwood began installation for the refresh of the displays and interpretation in the mansion pantry. The project was completed on Monday, March 17. The label text is available for all volunteers to study. Additionally, Collections and Curatorial assisted us in creating an object list for the Flatware from the Hillwood Service (12.326), providing a description of what each piece was used for. Please click here for the images and descriptions of these objects. Note: The label text was updated on March 18, 2025.

This update is part of a two-phase project that will also include a refresh of the staff dining room, scheduled for late summer or early fall of 2025. This initiative allows Hillwood to showcase additional objects from storage while offering deeper insights into the relationship between Marjorie Merriweather Post and her staff. For a preview of the plans for the staff dining room, we invite you to read Staff Dining Room and Pantry Refresh, a December 2024 article by Dr. Wilfried Zeisler, deputy director and chief curator.

The Collections team recently removed two paintings from the mansion for conservation. On March 11, the painting Rome: Forum and Capital was removed from its home above the vanity table in the Adam bedroom suite. On the second floor landing, the painting Portrait of Paul I as a Child (c. 1758) was removed from its home above the cabinet to the left of the snooze room door. The Collections team expects both paintings will be off view for some time, and volunteers will be notified when they are back on view.

Please click the links below for the images and descriptions of these paintings:

• Adam Bedroom Suite
• Second Floor Landing

The painting in the Adam bedroom suite was returned to view on September 1, 2025.

This change is no longer active, please see the French drawing room update in April 2025. 

On Wednesday, March 26, the round table (33.217) was temporarily removed from its home in the French drawing room for conservation. Another table (31.49) from the same room was moved as a temporary replacement. The Collections team expects the round table will be off view for some time, and we will update the volunteer website when it is back on view. Please click here for more information, including a picture of the updated display.

On Monday, April 7, the round table (33.217) was returned to its home in the French drawing room, after being taken off view for conservation. The temporary replacement table (31.49) was moved back to its original location. Additionally, the Presentation Box by William Hamy (11.134.1-2) has returned from loan and is back inside its case in the French drawing room. Please click here for more information, including pictures of the re-installed objects.

This change is no longer active, please see the latest Marjorie Merriweather Post bedroom update. 

On Tuesday, April 8, two photographs were removed for conservation from Marjorie Merriweather Post’s bedroom. The photographs (F1997.553 and 62.69) will be off view for at least one week. They will return to their home on either side of the bust of Marjorie Post and we will update the volunteer website when they are back on view. Please click here for images of the photographs and the current display of the Marjorie Post bust.

On Tuesday, April 15, two photographs (F1997.553 and 62.69) were returned to their home in Marjorie Merriweather Post’s bedroom, located on either side of the bust of Marjorie Post, after being taken off view for conservation.

Starting Tuesday, April 22, several objects will begin to be temporarily removed from the mansion in preparation for the upcoming special exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley. These objects will be off view until the exhibition opens on Saturday, June 7, when they will be featured in the Adirondack building. Please click here for more information, including pictures of the objects that have been or will be removed.

The exhibition From Exile to Avant-Garde: The Life of Princess Natalie Paley opens to the public in the Adirondack Building on Saturday, June 7, 2025. In tandem with the special exhibition, the mansion rotations are being updated to reflect and reinforce the exhibition’s themes. These updates are expected to be completed by June 2, 2025.

Installation of the summer mansion rotations is already underway. As of this May 27, the new dresses have been installed in the closets. Additional rotations will take place throughout the week, including updates to the Adam bedroom and dressing room, the second floor library, the Marjorie Post’s bedroom’s lace case, and the Second Floor Gallery. On June 2, the dining room and breakfast room tables, along with Marjorie Post’s bedroom’s jewelry case, will also be refreshed.

Click here to read the Mansion Rotation Information for June 2025–January 2026.

This change is no longer active, please see the Second Floor Hallway update in August 2025.

On Friday, June 6, several objects in the second floor hallway near the entrance of the English bedroom suite were temporarily removed to accommodate repair work in that area. The objects are expected to be returned to view in a few weeks, once repairs in the area are complete. Click here to view the list of temporarily removed objects.

With the conclusion of Setting Sail: The Story of Sea Cloud, the model of the Sea Cloud was reinstalled in the first-floor library on Monday, June 30. Along with the model, we’ve included the custom display case originally created for the exhibition. Positioned closer to the visitor pathway, the new case both protects the intricate model and allows guests to admire its remarkable details up close.

On Tuesday, July 9 and Friday, July 11, the Collections and Curatorial team refreshed the porcelain displays in the Russian porcelain room, second-floor hallway, and the pavilion. These updates highlight long-term loans from the collection of Kathy Durdin, along with select objects from Hillwood’s own storage. Click here to view the updated displays and a full list of the long-term loan objects now on view. 

This year, Hillwood began a two-phase project to refresh two spaces in the mansion: the pantry and the staff dining room. This initiative offers an opportunity to display additional objects from storage and provide deeper insights into the relationship between Marjorie Merriweather Post and her staff. The staff dining room will be closed to the public from August 4 through September 30, 2025, as Hillwood completes the second phase of the refresh.

On Tuesday, August 19, several objects in the second floor hallway near the entrance of the English bedroom suite were re-installed following the completion of repair work in that area. Click here to view the list of objects that have been re-installed.

On September 1, several paintings were removed from the entry hall and second floor hallway to undergo conservation. One painting was returned to view in the Adam bedroom suite following conservation work earlier this year. Click here to see the paintings that have been removed or returned to the mansion.

In addition to the removal of these paintings, several objects have been removed from the mansion in preparation for next year’s special exhibition On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting, which will be on view in the dacha from February 14-June 14, 2026. These objects will return to the mansion after the exhibition closes in the summer of 2026. Click here to view the list of objects that have been removed.

There are a number of objects on loan and in Hillwood’s collection that have sticker labels. Labels, old or new, are very important parts of an object’s history. They often bring significant information like the provenance, or previous ownership, of an artwork. A salt dish on long-term loan from the Durdin collection, which is on display in the Russian porcelain room, has an auction sticker from the sale the piece came from that can be seen on the interior of the dish. The curatorial team aims to keep labels intact, especially if they are not too visible and when the adhesive is not an issue for the piece or the material.

The newly refreshed staff dining room will reopen to the public on September 30. This revitalized space offers a unique opportunity to showcase additional collection objects from storage and share deeper insights into Marjorie Merriweather Post’s relationship with her staff. Click here to read the interpretive label text that visitors will encounter, as well as content from the audiovisual components that will be part of the new display.

On Monday, October 6, the collections and curatorial team will remove pieces from Princess Irina Paley’s traveling dressing table set in the Adam dressing room. The objects will be replaced with new acquisitions of a hat and pin. Click here to view the updated display and label text, as well as a full list of objects that have been removed or placed on view.