When it came time to install a new Curator at the Herreshoff Marine Museum, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it became clear that the Bristol institution did not need to look far for their ideal candidate — she’s been on their staff for several years already.

Evelyn joined the Herreshoff Marine Museum in 2016 as a Collections Specialist, working with Norene Rickson, HMM’s registrar, archivist, and librarian, digitizing the museum’s collection. It has become a bit of a specialty of Evelyn’s, having been involved with similar projects at institutions including the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, and the MIT Museum in Cambridge. While at MIT, Evelyn was instrumental in the development of the Herreshoff exhibit titled “Lighter, Stronger, Faster”.

Evelyn is no stranger to the nautical milieu: born and raised in Mystic, she is the daughter and granddaughter of Mystic Seaport Museum shipwrights. She attended Brown University where she earned a Fulbright Scholarship and gained experience in conservation, digitization and exhibit development.

The role of Curator at the Herreshoff Museum has been vacant since the retirement of Curator Emeritus John Palmieri in 2013. “Evelyn is a joy to work with,” commented John. “She will be museum’s first professionally trained and experienced curator. With her background in wooden boats, deep understanding of the Herreshoff Collections both in Bristol and at MIT, and her superior analytical skills, Evelyn will bring a new inter-disciplinary approach to interpreting the Herreshoff story of excellence.”

“It’s all about accessibility,” said Evelyn. Museums are looking for ways to make their collections available to researchers and “visitors” wherever they may be — and the pandemic served to further highlight the importance of that. At HMM, Evelyn was responsible for “Code Flag Lima” (so named because that is how a ship signals they are under quarantine.) The Lima project kept HMM relevant and in the public eye throughout the closures of the past year.
 
“Evelyn has become an integral and critical member of the HMM team,” said HMM President & Executive Director Bill Lynn. “She is great at what she does, and what she’s doing is really important to the future of this museum. The Code Flag Lima Project that Evelyn drove at the beginning of the Pandemic has been a home run, and we’re incredibly fortunate that she’s agreed to become our Curator.”

Despite there being a years-long vacancy in the curatorial role, Evelyn credits John Palmieri and Norene Rickson for carrying HMM through. “They both deserve all the credit, along with Bill Lynn and our volunteer crew, for carrying the collection through the curatorial interregnum.”

Evelyn is looking forward to a year full of events and new exhibits and initiatives and she and the staff at HMM continue the push to digitize the collection and increase accessibility of the Museum’s collection.
 
“I am humbled and honored to have been offered this role,” said Evelyn. “We have a lot of work ahead of us and will continue to strive to make HMM’s collections and the Herreshoff and America’s Cup legacies increasingly accessible to broader audiences through preservation and interpretation.”
 
Look for updates on a terrific slate of museum programs and events along with new offerings from the Curatorial team as the Herreshoff Golden Jubilee unfolds throughout 2021.