The Graycliff Conservancy has been awarded a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York City, in the amount of $20,000 to research and conserve furniture original to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Graycliff Estate in Derby, New York.

This grant will provide for research into the furniture built for Graycliff, as well as the study of colors and fabrics found in drawings and archival records at the University at Buffalo Archives.  These findings will then be used in the treatment of the original furniture at Graycliff.  This documentation will also allow the house to be brought closer to its original appearance, in anticipation of Graycliff's complete restoration and expanded tour schedule for public access.

Ms. Pamela Kirschner, a recent Kress Fellow with the New York State Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island Resource Center, has been selected for this project.  Ms. Kirschner has spent the last two years studying the finish, structure and upholstery on the furniture and architectural moldings from the Wright-designed Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo.  Ms. Kirschner's knowledge of twentieth century methods and materials and her focus on Frank Lloyd Wright furniture are expected to uncover significant details in the original appearance of Graycliff.  Ms. Kirschner's familiarity with the Martin family
and their relationship to Frank Lloyd Wright will also assist with this project.

Research on the original furnishings has begun and the furniture pieces will be restored by the Fall of 2001.