WHAT-TO-DO - NASSAU, CABLE BEACH & PARADISE ISLAND - JAN 2004 EDITION
Nestled in a historic downtown neighbourhood in one of Nassau's most magnificent buildings, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) is a stunning example of what happens when the present honours the past.
Villa Doyle, the stately mansion on West and West Hill Sts overlooking the western entrance to Nassau Harbour, was built in the 1860s as the private residence of Chief Justice Sir William Doyle. It is now home to the NAGB and its growing collection of contemporary Bahamian art.
Villa Doyle sat in a state of disrepair for decades atop what was once considered "one of the most beautiful streets in the Caribbean." Years of development and restoration have transformed the dilapidated shell of a building, once the haunt of thieves and vagrants, into a modern gallery showcasing Bahamian paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, photography and other works.
To walk through the gallery is to experience a harmonious blending of the past and the present. High-tech lights, glass interior walls and contemporary paintings and sculpture, are featured alongside colonial era mouldings and historically accurate accents.
"In a dire state"
At Villa Doyle, everything, from the floorboards to the balustrades to the smallest architectural details, has been restored and refurbished to appear as it would have looked more than 140 years ago.
"The building was in a dire state when we began the project," recalls Anthony Jervis, preservationist and architect for Villa Doyle. "In a sense, it was a shell." When the restoration began in 1998 the previous owner had already started to convert the building into apartments, and vandals, who had stripped the building of its original windows and beautiful chandeliers, had done their share of damage to the crumbling structure. In one area there was evidence of a fire.
Starting from the ground up, Jervis and a restoration team set out to return Villa Doyle to its former glory, taking into account the changes that would have to be made to transform the space into a functioning modern art gallery. The National Art Gallery Committee, appointed by the Cabinet and headed by Dr Gail Saunders, director of the Department of Archives, was adamant that the building be restored as accurately as possible.
"We wanted it back to how it was," says Saunders. "As closely as possible."
The original pine floorboards, which had completely deteriorated over the years, were replaced with panels of re-sawn wood taken from used lumber to recreate the way the floors would have looked when the mansion was built. "We had to come up with wood that was environmentally and politically correct, and it had to be dated," says Jervis.
Hanging space was also a major challenge. Some of Villa Doyle's wraparound verandas, which provided breathtaking views of Nassau Harbour, had to be enclosed to create wall space in what is now the ground-floor photography gallery, and to create more exhibition space upstairs.
What could be saved - columns, windows, balustrades, borders and ceiling panels and moulding in the grand ballroom - was repaired and refurbished. Skilled tradesmen were brought in to recreate what could be replicated, such as stairways. And what could not be used in its original form, such as posts from the enclosed porch areas, was put to good use.
"We restored it exactly the way it was," says Jervis. "Where there was a window we put a window. Where there was a panel we put a panel."
However, Jervis admits that there are two historically inaccurate features - the light colour of the floorboards and the stark white walls - that were wrought by practicality and preference. "The fashion at the time was to stain the floors a dark colour, mahogany, almost black. In this case it was the client's choice to keep the floors light. The walls would have been papered or coloured, but for obvious reasons they had to be white."
But how difficult was it to blend the historic with the modern while still maintaining the integrity of the building and providing the simplicity and balance needed for a state-of-the-art gallery? "Change can happen naturally," says Jervis. "If you respect continuity and change, the transition can easily happen. The form will naturally follow the function."
Visitors to the gallery seem to barely notice the modern conveniences that have been subtly installed at the restored Villa Doyle. Two 140-year-old posts, taken from the building's porches, frame the entrance to the elevator. And the gentle slope of the ramp, allowing disabled access, makes a seamless transition to a beautiful staircase leading to the second floor galleries.
Many owners
Villa Doyle has seen many changes since it was first built in the late 19th century by Sir William, a first-generation Bahamian of Irish parentage, who secured a prominent place in history as the first Bahamian to be knighted. He also served as secretary of the Department of Education, and eventually, as president of the Legislative Council (now the Senate). He was appointed Chief Justice of the Leeward Islands in 1875. Later, he occupied the same post in Gibraltar.
After his death in 1879, Sir William's widow, Lady Mary, sold the house in 1883 to William Robert Pyfrom for ?1,000. After Pyfrom's death, one of his daughters occupied Villa Doyle until about 1924, when it was sold for ?6,000 to Walter Kingsbury Moore (later Sir Walter Moore), president of the Legislative Council, who added a southern wing. Years after his death, it was sold to Baroness Von Hoyningen-Huene (the former Nancy Oakes).
It was subsequently sold to Keith Aranha in 1978 for $150,000, but his plans to convert the building into apartments were aborted and the government of the day acquired the building in 1995. The $3.9-million restoration project began in 1998 and the gallery was officially opened on July 7, 2003, three days before the Bahamas celebrated its 30th anniversary of independence.
A work in progress
Villa Doyle is arguably as much a part of the exhibition as the works in its galleries. With sites like Frank Gehry's unique museum in Bilbao, Spain - an extraordinary combination of interconnecting shapes - the idea of the building playing second fiddle to the art is changing.
A strong grouping of paintings, sculpture, ceramics and photographs are divided among the NAGB's prints and drawing gallery, a photography exhibition hall and a temporary exhibition space. The gallery's national collection, which is still being acquired by a specially formed committee, centres on works that are loosely divided into a historical and a contemporary collection that together map the development of Bahamian art.
The first installation of the gallery's national collection is now on display, along with "Bahamian Visions," which features photographs of The Bahamas between 1870 and 1920. Also on exhibit is a collection of watercolours of Nassau as it was in Victorian times by Royal Artillery officer Gaspard Le Marchant Tupper, who was stationed here at that time.
At the official opening of the NAGB, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the gallery "will lend itself to the increasing demand for heritage tourism," as many modern-day tourists want more than sun, sand and sea.
The first institution of its kind in the country, the restoration also represents a new focus on historical preservation. "The restoration of Villa Doyle has highlighted how important it is and how well it can be done," says Saunders. "If we don't do something about restoring the historic buildings of the city of Nassau our tourism product will suffer. But first we have to do it for ourselves."
NAGB curator Erica James hopes the gallery's work will make Bahamians proud and give visitors a deeper understanding of Bahamian culture.
"By experiencing the art on display at the gallery, I hope our visitors learn to appreciate that we are more than what the brochure says - sun, sand and sea," says James. "We are a creative people and we have something to say and express through the fine arts."
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