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Our Mission

 Since September, the Saltonstall curatorial team has worked to shed light on the Lamont Gallery’s permanent collection. Kept in the archives for years, the collection is home to a wide variety of prints, paintings, masks, and musical instruments, many of which mysteriously found their way to the gallery, hence the name “Of Accidental Origin.” Previous Gallery director John Wharton penned the exhibition’s title in a 1977 letter to the Art Advisory Committee captioned “Argument for the Sale of the Permanent Collection.” He believed “the collection as a whole is, in fact, too random and disjointed to contribute to shows to the Lamont gallery which might have general educational value.” “Of Accidental Origin” aims to counter this by embracing the range of work available in the Gallery. The exhibition combines a wide variety of art into a show the curators believe both cohesive and reflective of Exeter’s diverse community. Displayed in Principal MacFarlane’s dining room, the exhibit hopes to excite conversation between students, staff, faculty, and visitors alike. In addition, the project itself served as a wonderful learning tool for the student curatorial team, who were encouraged to write, research, and find meaning in the gallery’s vast collection. We believe the result does just that.

-Ellie '18



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Of Accidental Origin Curatorial Statement

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An Overview of the Project

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