Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

“Man, this is like going to church!” were the first words uttered by friend and colleague, Ed Blake, as he entered the Miller House and Garden property a few weeks ago.  Ed is a landscape architect from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and now working to develop the IMA’s Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park.  He was part of a small group joining Bradley Brooks and me for a special Saturday morning tour of this remarkable site.

Ed first witnessed the site decades ago while on a work assignment in Columbus.  He was then only able to peek through the already tall arborvitae hedges guarding the property’s east side, but knew the place was indeed very special.  After all, one of the 20th century’s masters of landscape design, Dan Kiley, had worked his magic here.  For all of us in the field, this is a place for reverence.

Miller House, summer 2009 (Ed Blake and Bradley Brooks on far right)

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I joined the IMA staff in 2000 when the museum was already well along with its project to renovate and reinterpret Oldfields, the former home of J. K. Lilly Jr.  The house was a construction site from top to bottom, and indeed beyond its walls, with many of its interior features and surfaces hidden behind protective coverings to prevent the damage that comes so easily when tools, ladders, materials, and equipment are constantly on the move.  While things were thus covered, we planned for the appearance of the house when it would reflect the early 1930s, the time the Lilly family first lived there.  An image of the house slowly came into focus as we made final selections of paint colors, furnishing choices, and textile selections.  It was an exciting process, one rare enough in one’s career to be especially savored.

Lilly House at the IMA

Interior view of Lilly House

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As the IMA website indicates, we have taken official possession of the Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana. This will make the second National Historic Landmark property the IMA has in its collection (Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens being the first). How’s that for bragging rights! As a practical matter however, home ownership is not all fun and games in this situation. Ahead lies a road of challenges for the staff working on MHG teams.

Columbus is an hour’s drive south of Indy, which makes it difficult to explore the house and conduct business with the current local staff. Director of Lilly House Operations Bradley Brooks, head of our team of six, has spent a lot of time on the phone and making the trek south in the run-up to taking possession of the property. He has interacted with everyone from members of the Miller family to a nephew of  Eero Saarinen. Bradley has been, and continues to be a very busy beaver.

The task of converting a residential property into a museum showcase has been an educational experience for our team, so far. It has forced us to look at all the things we do here at the museum, a lot of which we take for granted, and formulate how to adapt and transplant these practices to a former family home fifty miles away.

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