Adapting: Alone in The Westmoreland, collections manager tends to the art in the age of coronavirus

Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways the global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania.

Being alone in a shuttered museum didn’t work so well for Ben Stiller’s character in the 2006 movie “Night at the Museum.”

It is an experience Doug Evans, collections manager at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, has learned to treasure during the coronavirus shutdown.

Although he would rather have the Greensburg museum open, he said he finds a certain joy in having time alone in the galleries.

He also has found a novel way to share the art inside with the world outside.

The director, Anne Kraybill, “challenged staff to come up with creative ways to keep our community engaged through social media and online while we are temporarily closed,” he said. “A small gesture, but I thought to share a changing selection from our permanent collection in the North Main Street window for passersby to discover and enjoy.”

Each Friday afternoon, he places a different piece in the large rectangular window.

Look up through April 10 for “Leonard,” a 1937 oil by Mary Regensburg Feist of her husband, Leonard Feist.

Based in New York, the late artist actually had her first solo exhibition at The Westmoreland in 1996. It was at the opening reception Evans says Leonard Feist taught him how to tie a bow tie — just do it like you’re tying a shoelace.

“I’m selecting things that I like for various reasons, but people can reach out with requests for what they’d like to see,” Evans said.

‘An incredible work’

His first selection was Rembrandt Peale’s iconic portrait of George Washington, which touches Evans in many ways.

“It’s an incredible work. George Washington looks really handsome,” he said. “I thought those gorgeous blue eyes would show up to people walking across the street. (Washington) also has a pensive look that is appropriate to the times.”

The eyes remind Evans of his late father, who he says would have been a reassuring presence in a time like this.

The Peale also was The Westmoreland’s first painting acquisition, purchased in 1958, 15 months before the museum opened to the public.

Evans’ regular duties include overseeing details such as loans, transportation and insurance for future exhibitions. He is responsible for the care and physical safety of pieces on exhibition and in the collection.

“A major task is monitoring temperature and humidity,” he said. “Sudden or extreme changes can cause a number of problems for an object, depending on the materials used by the artist.”

An eye for detail

He’s been spending time in the darkened Cantilever Gallery, monitoring pieces in “African American Art in the 20th Century,” a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution that had only been open three weeks when the museum closed.

Originally scheduled to end May 10, the exhibition will be extended through Aug. 16, Evans said.

“Using a high magnification lens to observe surface details, I have completed a condition report for each object,” he said.

His lens lingered over Sam Gilliam’s 1979 oil on canvas, “Open Cylinder.”

“I could see the brushwork and the layers, where they were applied and how they were blended,” he said. “I could see how the work was created. I sense how much the artist enjoyed painting.”

He also sat on the floor “to quietly take in all the components” of Renee Stout’s “The Colonel’s Cabinet,” a mixed-media piece incorporating carpet, a chair and cabinet, along with found and handmade objects.

The best part

It’s a job he loves, and not just because he passes the time among beautiful works of art.

“A good friend of our museum, a collector and major donor, phoned last week to ask some questions about planning an exhibition,” Evans said. “He said, ‘I knew you would be at the museum.’

“The collection is not just the objects. It’s the connections with the artists, the lenders and the donors. Making those friends, that’s been the best part of the job.”

Evans is one of three employees spending time on site, tending to essential tasks.

“Because it’s such a large building, we don’t have any trouble maintaining social distancing,” he said. “We can all be on different floors or in exact opposite corners of the building.”

With no visitors present, Evans can listen to music by his favorite composers — like Henryk Gorecki, Arvo Pärt and Toru Takemitsu — while working in the galleries or in his office. Some days, his dog, Mr. Buddy Walker, a 10-year-old miniature pinscher mix, comes along “for comfort and support.”