Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jon Harbuck, has asked me to pass this on to our membership and friends.
Dear Members of the Artist Preservation Group,
As 2018 draws to a close — our 13 -year anniversary and the most successful year in the history of the APG — I am writing to summarize where we are and to solicit your input for where we should go from here.
Last May we held our second joint show with MFCA, as a part of which we toured Independence Hall and the new Museum of the Revolution (and saw one of our projects on display, the Monmouth Flag), spent time in the most historic parts of Philadelphia, and gorged on authentic Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. A planned Historex Workshop by Bill Ottinger had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances but was handed off to our Chicago friends and was a huge success at last October’s MMSI Show. Our joint shows have been a big success and we plan to continue them (see below).
2018 saw the completion of our Canty Frock Coat project, a gift to the Princeton Battlefield Society to help develop a modern interactive museum on the battlefield, and the successful raising of $10,000 as a donation to the American Battlefield Trust’s Gettysburg Project, conservation of a threatened portion of Seminary Ridge. This November we’ve made a $5000 donation to the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation to help them with their purchase of the Huntsberry Farm on the Battlefield of Third Winchester (Opequon). All of these are detailed on our website.
Also mentioned on our website but deserving a special report here, a few months ago a substantial gift was made to the APG. As you all know, Dr. David Yahnke, one of our original members and dedicated patron, passed away late last year. In honor of David’s support of our mission, his family has donated his entire collection of miniatures, books, militaria and artwork. Board Members Mike Stelzel, Bob Stein and Dave Peschke, working with MMSI Board member Joe Berton, have taken possession of the collection. So far, sales to collectors of portions of that collection have netted more than $60,000 towards our future projects. We are most indebted to the Yahnke family, and grateful for their ongoing support of our mission.
As noted above, we plan to continue holding APG shows in even-numbered years in conjunction with established shows that have offered to host us. Having been hosted by MFCA for 2016 and 2018, we now have been invited to hold a joint show in 2020 with AMFS, the Atlanta Show, which we have accepted. As with APG Shows in prior years, we plan to host some historical tours and special events for current and prospective members and will post periodic updates on the website as we move closer to the event.
Finally, the Board is considering holding another stand-alone show — one similar to those we held in Gettysburg and Fredericksburg in the past — sometime in the next few years. The show would be timed for a month and year that would not interfere with World Expo or any other existing show and would be scheduled for a historic destination the membership would find attractive and interesting. Potential venues include Charleston SC, Winchester VA, Sharpsburg MD, and (of course) a return to Gettysburg. We very much would like to hear from you members about this because we want to make it an event that everybody would want to add to their show schedules. So please, let us hear from you. Pete Culos has put a survey on our blog. Please visit the website and take a minute to give us your thoughts. https://artistpreservationgroup.com/2018/11/12/take-the-apg-stand-alone-show-survey/
Finally (okay, really final this time) on behalf of the Board I want to express my deep gratitude for the support each of you members has provided to APG and its mission. It has been a great thirteen years. It promises to be an even greater future!
Jon Harbuck
Chairman