Texas museum curator should lose job over Gilbert diorama
February 17th, 2008, 11:29 am · 3 Comments · posted by Le Templar
Tribune photo
There’s a museum curator in Texas who should be out of a job pretty darn quick. And a day or two in the local stockade might be reasonable as well.
The Tribune reported Saturday that Jeff Hunt of Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas, recently destroyed a diorama of a Civil War battle that was painstakingly designed and painted by students at Gilbert’s Highland High School.
The diorama, featuring hundreds of little soldier figurines, was of the Battle at Palmetto Ranch, which is considered to be the final conflict of the war between the states. Highland put together the display at the specific request of Hunt’s predecessor because the students have developed a reputation for detailed work of excellence.
But Hunt, who wrote a book about the Battle at Palmetto Ranch, decided after the diorama had been on display for seven weeks that it was historically inaccurate — and he ripped it apart.
If Hunt truly is the expert he claims to be, he knows just how much time and energy goes into preparing these types of dioramas. In this case, the Highland students more than three years on the display and it cost $23,000 to finish.
Hunt deserves to lose his job for his heartless destruction of these students’ hard work. And if the diorama still belonged to Highland High School instead of the museum, he committed some criminal mischief or vandalism as well.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
According to everythiing that I have read on this subject;
1. These students were given $23,000 by a foundation for the diorama. Upon delivery to the museum, it would have ceased to be their property and became property of the museum. To the best of my knowledge, a museum is allowed to change their exhibits.
2. The historically Inaccuracy of the diorama is a failure which should be on the shoulders of the people supervising the creation project without what appears to be proper research, not the new director of the museum who removed it the day after he started his official duties as director at the museum.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Everyone should contact the Adjutant General about this disgrace - imagine if your son’s or daughter’s work was treated in this way.
Adjutant General of Texas, Major General Charles G. Rodriguez, P.O. Box 5218, Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas 78763-5218, call 512-782-5006, send a fax to 512-782-5578, or email charles.rodriguez@tx.ngb.army.mil.