The Permanent Collection, Wheaton College (MA)

Wheaton College purchased the Terpsichore mosaic from the Merrin Gallery in late March-early April 1987 under the guidance of Roberta J.M. Olson, Associate Professor of Art, with funding provided by the Newell Bequest Fund. The mosaic arrived on campus in May 1987, and was restored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s mosaic conservator George E. Wheeler, Ph.D. After the restoration, the mosaic was installed in the lower lobby of Watson Hall. The Art and Art History department collaborated and consulted with staff at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the purchase of the Terpsichore mosaic. These departments felt the mosaic's fine condition would allow students many new avenues for research. Fellow mosaic fragments from the floor in ancient Gerasa are owned and displayed at the Yale University Art Gallery. Presently, the mosaic is no longer bolted to the lower lobby of Watson, but housed in The Wheaton College Permanent Collection, where students can research this ancient Roman antiquity.  

Text Sources:

George Wheeler, personal letter to college, May 21, 1987.

Cynthia Roman, notice to Marilyn Wilson, May 26, 1987.

“A Roman Mosaic,” Friends of Art Newsletter, Fall 1987, 1.

Vicky Solon, personal letter to Ann Murray, June 20, 2006.

Image Sources:

Wheaton College Permanent Collection. http://wheatoncollege.edu/permanent-collection/student-involvement/, accessed April 21, 2014.