? ?
- Grand architecture, luxurious furnishings,
and an ever-evolving collection of artwork.
The Paine Art Center and Gardens
is a historic treasure in Oshkosh.
I journeyed outside of the mansion
to meet with Laura Fiser,
who is in charge of keeping the collection fresh
for new and returning visitors.
How are you doing today, Laura? - I'm great!
- How are you, Angela? - I'm doing well, thank you.
So, can you tell us about your role
here at the art center? - Sure, I'm the curator
of collections and exhibitions at the Paine.
So, that means that I work on everything inside the mansion.
So, our historic period rooms.
The mansion dates from the 1920s,
And we have an art collection that I manage.
Paintings, sculptures, furnishings, textiles,
decorative arts, and then,
I also work on our exhibitions program here at the Paine.
I would say one of the most fascinating parts
of the interior of the Paine
is that they were very thoughtful about their choices
and not just what they were purchasing for the rooms,
the artwork, and the furnishing,
but also in a bigger picture.
So, they wanted each period room to represent a different style.
All of those first-floor rooms were designed and furnished
with visitors in mind.
And what they would see--
They were very much presentation rooms meant to wow.
- So, aside from being like an art hub for Oshkosh,
can you tell us anything else
about, kind of, the significance of this space for the community?
- Sure, well, the Paines wanted to create an oasis, if you will.
A place where once you enter the gates, you're kind of
transported to an English-style country estate
featuring, you know,
the highest quality building design and materials.
And so, I feel like when you come to visit the Paine,
it's the totality of the design of the full environment,
both the outdoors and the indoors.
They worked tirelessly
to make this dream happen.
And some people say, "It's sad that they never lived here,"
but I think that we're very much fulfilling their purpose
in providing inspiration, education, and culture
for the community.
- Thank you so much for that, Laura.