Preservation News: New Project at Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office

Most of our readers have probably heard of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office which is preserved, interpreted, and operated by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Located in Washington D.C., this small apartment is where the now-famous battlefield nurse spent post-war years trying to discover the fates of missing soldiers.

(You can read more about the location and Barton’s work here.)

Some of the latest news from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine is the announcement of an effort to bring fresh and visual interpretation and materialization to the life and self-less efforts of Clara Barton.

The new feature will be a 14-foot-wide by 10-foot-high mural in the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. This public art project, depicting Clara Barton’s accomplishments while she lived and worked in the space, will be accessible to the public in the Museum’s first floor visitor center.

Artist Peter Waddell, who is renowned for his exceedingly detailed historical paintings, has shown in more than 20 exhibitions over his career. His colorful and lively work evokes a sense of incredible realism—as if visitors could step through the canvas and into a different time. The Museum is honored to have him work on this artistic interpretation of Clara Barton’s life.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office are making this project their 2018 annual fundraising appeal, working to raise $20,000 to make the painting a reality. They believe the painting displayed in the lobby will enliven the building with color while enticing new visitors into the museum. Hopefully, through this visualization of Barton’s story, new understandings will be reached and new visitors introduced to the remarkable accounts of Clara Barton during and after the Civil War.

The Museum is offering donation incentives as part of their fundraising efforts. For additional details and to donate directly to this interpretative project at an important historic site, please visit their website:  https://civilwarmed.donorshops.com/products/2018appeal