Let it Rain

If executed in just the right way, an umbrella depicting images from a collection can act as a portable museum, a mini atrium floating above as a shelter that adds a bit of color on the most dismal of days. If the art is on piece's underside, it becomes a private one at that! It's actually the dome shape that makes an umbrella the perfect pallet for museum product development; here are a few that I have had made in the past.

Veronese Umbrella

This is a perfect example of how to fuse a collection image unto the underside of a bumbershoot. In this case, it was The Coronation of Hebe, which is on the Veronese room ceiling at the Gardner. Translating it on an umbrella places it overhead in the same spirit as to how the original painting is installed in the museum, a natural complement to the art.

Fra Angelico Angels Umbrella

It has been said that the Gardner Fra Angelico, The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin, is possibly the most important renaissance painting in the United States. For my purposes, I was trying to translate the piece into an umbrella while steering clear of the more solemn themes in the painting. So I decided to focus on the angels as there were so many in the original piece. I isolated eight different details and arranged them in a complementary fashion on the umbrella’s underside panels.

Belisarius Series Umbrella

Okay, so here is a little peek into how I sometimes see art; I first looked at the Belisarius Series at PEM and then thought umbrella. But here is why, firstly, it has eight panels that would naturally translate to the octagonal sections of an umbrella. Secondly, it depicts the ship, Belisarius, slowly heading into a storm, a perfect theme to place on an instrument that protects one from bad weather. Thirdly, the images would lend a more rugged look, which could appeal to a broader audience. When the production sample came in, I noticed something I had not considered; with a simple twirl of the handle, the ship goes from stormy to calm weather.