Love This House

Fundraising Campaign Supporting the Taft's Bicentennial Infrastructure Project

Show How Much You Love This House

Securing the National Endowment for the Humanities Matching Grant

The Taft Museum of Art was awarded the competitive Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the maximum amount of $750,000. However, to receive the grant—the Taft had to raise $3 million from new public funds to secure the 4:1 match.

Funds raised directly supported the Taft's Love This House campaign, a fundraising initiative seeking to raise $12.7MM to support the Taft's Bicentennial Infrastructure Project, critically needed to preserve and reconstruct the museum's 200-year-old historic house—the Taft's largest work of art and prized National Historic Landmark.

The Case Statement & Timeline for the Critical Work

In late 2015, in advance of the museum’s celebration of the historic house’s bicentennial in 2020, the Taft commissioned an extensive review of the museum’s operational and infrastructure needs. Key collaborators worked to create a master plan for the museum and to understand the needs of the collection and the needs of visitors. They identified and developed solutions for the complex problems of a 200-year-old home, and completed a thorough analysis of the scope of capital projects needed to maintain this historic house for the next century.

From summer 2021 to spring 2022, the house has undergone a series of preservation projects so that the next generation of visitors can enjoy its great art and history.

Explore the project plans below or download the case statement.

The Challenge

We are the caring stewards of the Taft historic house, a 200-year-old home. Meaningful infrastructure and rehabilitation work was needed to ensure future generations could experience it for years to come. The 2004 renovation was vital to the interior of the museum; however, the exterior presented day-to-day operating inefficiencies. There was evidence of water damage through the exterior siding of the house; repairs were needed to the windows, shutters, roof, gutters, and chimneys. The original board siding that enveloped the building had warped since the 1970s when faulty boards were last replaced. Due to the many preservation regulations that apply to the house, addressing and repairing these issues was a challenge.

The Solution

As the Taft Museum of Art is a National Historic Landmark, we needed to ensure that all proper protocols and preservation best practices were followed for any work undertaken. Work to be completed included the repair of window shutters, the addition of proper venting of the original windows, the installation of a moisture barrier on the envelope of the house, and the waterproofing and sealing of the foundation. Additionally, structural work, refinishing of original boards, and painting of the house was completed.

Did You Know? The Taft Museum of Art also has historic landmark status for the murals by Robert S. Duncanson. The Duncanson murals, some of our most important works, are painted directly onto the 200-year-old plaster of the historic home’s foyer. Because the murals could not be moved, the care of the murals was of paramount concern. We maintained a safe environment for the murals by controlling temperature and humidity, monitoring for vibration, and regularly examining the murals’ condition.

The Challenge

After 15 years, the existing interpretation of the Taft Museum of Art's permanent collection—wall texts, object labels, and photographs—no longer reflected current research. Moreover, we wanted to engage our visitors, who have diverse interests and ways of learning, with new and stimulating information. Experiences now highlight the history of the Taft family, the house and its design, and its collections of fine and decorative arts. In addition, the Dater Education Space on the lower level of the historic house required enhancements to continue to meet the educational needs of our growing program.

The Solution

A complete reinterpretation of the art collections and historic house features the latest scholarship and dynamic experiences to excite visitors of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to lively new texts, brochures, and materials for families, an interactive digital component that integrates low-touch technology enriches the way people relate to the permanent collection and historic house. The Dater Education Room received enhancements including more flexible furniture, better electrical infrastructure to use with art-making tools, and proper storage facilities for art supplies.

Did You Know? Highlights from the Taft Museum of Art's permanent collection were still able to be enjoyed during this project! Selections from the Taft’s permanent collection were viewable in two special exhibitions. In a New Light featured more than 80 highlights from the collection in the Taft Museum of Art’s Fifth Third Gallery and Borrowed Gems at the Cincinnati Museum Center included nearly 50 works of art.

The Challenge

A 2018 heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) audit confirmed that the current air handling system was unable to maintain precise temperature and humidity levels in our galleries. In part, this was because the building’s exterior provided little support to our current heating and air conditioning systems. As a result, our heating and cooling systems worked harder and required more frequent repairs to achieve accepted museum environmental standards for the permanent collection and works on loan to us. This shortcoming further burdened us with costly and labor-intensive workarounds for special exhibitions and loaned works.

The Solution

We modified the building exterior to ensure that the appropriate HVAC systems could meet the climatic needs of the historic house and the artwork it contains. Updated HVAC technology and a higher-functioning HVAC system now properly marry the 1820 house and the 2004 addition so that both achieve museum environmental standards.

Did You Know? Museums follow stringent best practices to maintain the temperature at 70 degrees (plus or minus two degrees) while maintaining humidity at a level of 50 percent (plus or minus five percent) to protect the artwork from environmental damage. All renovation work helps us adhere to these needed standards as well as strict historic preservation standards.

The Challenge

To ensure the safety of our visitors, staff, and collection, we needed to achieve industry best practices in security preparedness.

The Solution

Advances in security technology are now more financially attainable for museums of our size. Additional security efforts, including exterior lights and an upgraded fire suppression system, were completed.

Did You Know? Approximately 80 to 90 percent of the wooden siding on the historic house is original. All the wooden boards that make up the house’s outer skin were removed, and a vapor barrier was installed behind the interior walls.

**Ensure Future Generations Can Love This House Too**

There's Still Time to Give!

Charles and Anna Taft gave their house and their collection, to the people of Cincinnati with a wish to make art available to all. This has been a guiding light for the museum and it is why we do all we can to preserve and share the art and history contained in these walls, why we strive to support artists themselves, and why the Taft historic house has stood for as long as it has.

The circa 1820 historic house needs preservation now to protect the integrity of the structure, which is essential to ensure that it stands for another 200 years, its priceless contents are protected, and the museum can continue its meaningful work with the Cincinnati community.

There are several ways to give to the Love This House campaign, including:

Cash
Stock/Securities (click here for instructions)
IRA Contribution/Beneficiary (donors aged 70 1/2 can make a charitable gift from an IRA without paying income tax on the withdrawal)
Will/Estate Planning (learn more)
Life Insurance (learn more)

Give Today

or download the pledge form!

Questions? Please contact Jen Horvath, Director of Development at (513) 684-4527 or at JHorvath@taftmuseum.org

Join the $2,020 Club

Make a multi-year pledge to our preservation project! Those with a commitment of $2,020 or more will be listed temporarily on-site and in our triannual members’ publication, Portico. This multi-year gift will be matched with our National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

Already made a gift and wish to increase it? We’d be happy to honor your previous gift and put it towards the $2,020 club level.

Learn more about this special opportunity by contacting Jen Horvath, Director of Development at (513) 684-4527 or at JHorvath@taftmuseum.org.

Project Updates

Explore the latest updates on the Taft Museum of Art’s Bicentennial Infrastructure Project needed to maintain the Taft historic house for the next century and the stories we discovered along the way by subscribing to our newsletter, reading our latest updates, or following #TaftHouse200 on social!

Love This House In the News

NEH Announces $30.9 Million for 188 Humanities Projects Nationwide | National Endowment for the Humanities
Taft Museum awarded huge NEH grant toward bicentennial year | Movers & Makers
Greater Cincinnati museum receives $750,000 grant for infrastructure improvements | Cincinnati Business Courier
Taft Museum getting big makeover for its 200th birthday | Cincinnati Enquirer
Exhibit to Celebrate 200 Years of the Taft Museum of Art's Original Building | Cincy Magazine
Brown Announces $500,000 for Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati | Sherrod Brown, U. S. Senator for Ohio
Taft Museum of Art receives $500,000 Save America's Treasures grant for rehabilitation project | Cincinnati Business Courier
Save America's Treasures awards $500,000 to the Taft Museum of Art | Soapbox Cincinnati
Taft Museum of Art continues 200th Anniversary of historic house | Cincy Lifestyle
Taft Museum of Art celebrates 200th anniversary of its home with two exhibitions | Cincinnati Business Courier
Taft Museum launches $10.7 million campaign to protect its 200-year-old building | Cincinnati Business Courier
We Love This House! | GBBN
Taft Museum Begins $10.7 Million Campaign to Preserve 200-Year-Old Building | Spectrum News
While historic Taft house closes for repair, museum’s best works will be displayed with new interpretations | Cincinnati Business Courier
One of Cincinnati's Oldest Houses, the Taft Museum of Art, is Getting a Revamp | Cincinnati Magazine
Taft Museum of Art Begins Restoration of 200-Year-Old House, Reinterprets Collection 'In a New Light' | CityBeat
Kickstart the Arts: Greater Cincinnati Organizations Emerge from the Pandemic with Big Plans | CityBeat
"For a museum of such modest size, the Taft Museum of Art has certainly gotten in the habit of doing things in a big way" | Cincinnati Enquirer
Taft Museum of Art's historic house set to reopen after yearlong, $12.7M renovation | Cincinnati Business Courier

The Love This House Bicentennial Project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom

The Love This House Bicentennial Project is being supported in part by a Save America's Treasures grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.