The next time you visit our Renaissance painting galleries
you will notice some dramatic changes. We have started integrating suits of
armor into the galleries, getting more of the Higgins Armory collection on view
for our visitors. As curator at the Armory for 15 years, I was often frustrated
that I could never show the suits of armor in connection with other kinds of
objects of the period. The limitations of a small museum also meant that I was
never able to put significant resources into how the armor was displayed. So
I’m pretty thrilled by the new installation—these armors have never looked
better. We put a lot of effort into helping visitors get a feel for how they
actually looked on a human being, and seeing them in relation to other artworks
of the period helps put them into their proper setting. So come see some star
suits from the Higgins Collection, now in their “natural habitat” for the very
first time in centuries!- Jeffrey L. Forgeng, Curator of Arms & Armor and Medieval Art
