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Upcoming Events

New York, NY 
June 9
Friends of WMF
Tour of Morris-Jumel Mansion

June 13
Moai Circle
Upper East Side Walking Tour

Paris, France 
June 11
Talleyrand Ball
 

 

Travel with WMF

Join WMF Britain for a trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar  November 2-10.

For more information, contact Sarah Meaker at
+44 (0)20 72518142 or [email protected].

 

In the News

 

Stowe House Lions and Urns Restored

The installation of two large lion sculptures and 30 copper urns along the south front of Stowe House in early April marked the completion of the decade-long program of work to restore the exterior of this great English mansion. The lions were probably bought between 1760 and 1770 from renowned sculptor John Cheere, and remained at Stowe until 1921, when they were sold at auction and moved to Stanley Park in Blackpool. WMF brokered a deal with Blackpool council to return them to their home, and in return the city received identical copies and residents are allowed free entrance to Stowe for the duration of the loan.

New Initiative Transforming Jaisalmer

I Love Jaisalmer is a new NGO founded by hotelier Manvendra Singh Shekhawat that is transforming the historic Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan, India. Since February of this year, volunteers--hotel owners, guides, local government officials, and residents--have worked to clean tons of trash from thousands of square feet of roads and paths in and around the fort as well as on the slopes beneath the ramparts. A new municipal waste management system has also been implemented. This is great news for India's last "living fort," three times included on the World Monuments Watch and the focus of WMF conservation projects since the 1990s. To learn more about this initiative, visit their Facebook fan page

Simon Winchester Delivers Stern Lecture
Noted author Simon Winchester gave the 2013 Stern Lecture to a packed auditorium at Asia Society and Museum in New York City on May 20. His engaging and entertaining talk focused on three men and their involvement in a collection of ancient manuscripts discovered in the Dunhuang Caves in Western China. For those who missed the talk, it will be available on our FORA.tv page next week.
WMF Lectures in California

WMF was invited back to southern California in May for our fourth annual visit. Jonathan Foyle, Chief Executive of WMF Britain, presented "Our Past: A Present to Our Future?" to receptive audiences to the Beverly Hills Women's Club, the Pacific Palisades Women's Club, and at Greystone Mansion for Friends of Greystone. We appreciate the warm and enthusiastic welcome from our friends in Los Angeles and look forward to returning!  


WMF Staff Update

George McNeely has joined WMF as Vice President for Strategic & International Affairs. Before joining WMF, George had been with Christie's Auction House for 15 years and, prior to that, at the Guggenheim Museum.

 

Two WMF staff members, Ashley Tierney and Pauline Eveillard, attended the American Express Leadership Academy in early May with more than 40 other professionals from some 22 leading nonprofits in the US. They spent four days learning about leadership and management skills and heard from top executives from American Express, including CEO Kenneth Chenault and CMO John Hayes.