This year's Lenett Fellow, Charlie Kong (Williams College M.A. Class of 2026), presents the conservation and art-historical research he undertook during his fellowship, which focused on a nineteenth-century water cooler produced by the United States Pottery Company.
The object chosen for assessment and treatment was a flint enamel ware water cooler from the collection of the Bennington Museum. Created using a mold, the vessel is octagonal, with each exterior side decorated with a full-length figure of an apostle. After researching the history of the company, locating similar examples of its production, and consulting with conservators and curators familiar with this manufacturer’s production, Kong worked with Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center (W+AACC) conservator Lindsay Ryder to analyze the Bennington water cooler to better understand its structure and materials, including its glazing. Kong’s hands-on conservation work focused on stabilization and aesthetic reintegration, including surface cleaning, the removal of earlier repairs, consolidation of unstable areas, and the infilling and inpainting of losses.
Each academic year, the Judith M. Lenett Memorial Fellowship is awarded to a selected second-year student in the Williams College/Clark Graduate Program in the History of Art. The fellowship allows the recipient to explore issues of conservation in the field of American art. Working closely with conservators from the Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center (W+AACC), each Fellow conserves and researches an American art object.
A reception follows the event.
Image: Lenett Fellow Charlie Kong examines a ceramic water cooler at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. Photo by Peter Mahoney
This year's Lenett Fellow, Charlie Kong (Williams College M.A. Class of 2026), presents the conservation and art-historical research he undertook during his fellowship, which focused on a nineteenth-century water cooler produced by the United States Pottery Company.
The object chosen for assessment and treatment was a flint enamel ware water cooler from the collection of the Bennington Museum. Created using a mold, the vessel is octagonal, with each exterior side decorated with a full-length figure of an apostle. After researching the history of the company, locating similar examples of its production, and consulting with conservators and curators familiar with this manufacturer’s production, Kong worked with Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center (W+AACC) conservator Lindsay Ryder to analyze the Bennington water cooler to better understand its structure and materials, including its glazing. Kong’s hands-on conservation work focused on stabilization and aesthetic reintegration, including surface cleaning, the removal of earlier repairs, consolidation of unstable areas, and the infilling and inpainting of losses.
Each academic year, the Judith M. Lenett Memorial Fellowship is awarded to a selected second-year student in the Williams College/Clark Graduate Program in the History of Art. The fellowship allows the recipient to explore issues of conservation in the field of American art. Working closely with conservators from the Williamstown + Atlanta Art Conservation Center (W+AACC), each Fellow conserves and researches an American art object.
A reception follows the event.
Image: Lenett Fellow Charlie Kong examines a ceramic water cooler at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. Photo by Peter Mahoney
