Gilded Age Brewery Barons Meet Touch-Safe Art Renaissance
The Newark Museum of Art's Ballantine House, once home to prosperous brewery owners John and Jeannette Ballantine, underwent a $12 million facelift combining 1885 opulence with today's diverse Newark narratives. Unlike your usual dust-and-glory restoration, associate curator Amy Simon Hopwood proudly insists, 'We wanted to bring in different stories,' showing African-American history alongside the family legacy. Visitors can avoid ruining priceless carvings by touching reproductions at a touch stationâbecause nothing says inclusivity like telling people 'don't touch' while inviting them to experience 'the largest object in the museum's collection.'
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Restore a mansion with $12M, plus an anti-touch playground to keep rich history from fingersâbut hey, now includes underrepresented stories too. Who knew diversity meant new paintings and a $10 cover charge?
Who knew a brewery family crib could become Newark's version of a dogeared history textbook? $12 million later, now with fancy anti-touch toys for adults who still can't keep their mitts to themselves.
The Ballantine House: where stale millionaires meet today's sensibilities and a ban on touching history, because 'respect' is just another exhibit you have to pay $10 to see.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/24/2025 | Author: Talia Lakritz
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