TOLEDO, OHIO.- The Toledo Museum of Art announced that it has been awarded a $465, 000 grant from The Joseph G. Bradley Charitable Foundation to help support the restoration of the Museum’s E.M. Skinner Opus 603 organ. 



“We are so pleased that The Bradley Foundation has chosen to support our conservation efforts,” stated Museum Director Roger M. Berkowitz. “Their generous support will assist us greatly in restoring the organ to its original condition."



The Joseph G. Bradley Charitable Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable foundation established by the late Mr. Bradley to support, maintain, and preserve the best examples of the work of American organ-builder Ernest M. Skinner. The Bradley Foundation is committed to preserving these organs in the style and form intended by Mr. Skinner.



Built in 1926 specifically for the Museum, the Opus 603 organ was a gift in memory of the Toledo Museum of Art’s founder, Edward Drummond Libbey, from his two sisters, Sarah Miller Libbey and Alice Libbey Walbridge. The organ was built in the Romantic style and has 62 speaking stops and more than 3,000 pipes. Opus 603 is housed in the Museum’s Peristyle.

The A. Thompson-Allen Company of New Haven, Connecticut, curators of the 15 pipe organs at Yale University, will undertake renovations to the Museum’s organ. With over 50 years of experience in maintaining and repairing the finest organs in the United States, A.Thompson-Allen has completely restored 12 Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner organs, as well as those of other builders. The goal of their restorations is to preserve the tonal and technological integrity of these organs in the original style that it was built. 



“As a museum housing works of art, a large part of our mission is to ensure that all works of art within our care are well maintained,” said Mr. Berkowitz. “We believe the Thomas-Allen Company will be able to conduct an historical restoration to provide our audiences with renewed opportunity to enjoy this exceptional instrument.”



The restoration of the organ is one of several projects that are part of the Museum’s Founders of the Second Century capital campaign. Highlights of the campaign include the construction of a new Center for Glass, the creation of an outdoor sculpture garden, and the preservation of the Museum and it’s collection of nearly 30,000 works of art. An additional project within the Peristyle was improvements to the acoustics; specifically a new acoustic stage ceiling.