Time Capsule: Brice Hailstock, former guard of the American period rooms

“Time Capsule” is a 1 Fine Arts Blog series drawing on the rich history of the Saint Louis Art Museum as documented through its institutional records. Established in 1976, the Museum Archives preserve and provide access to historic records chronicling spaces, events, exhibitions, and other activities. Materials from the Archives are open to the public by appointment in the Richardson Memorial Library’s reading room.

The Museum Archives serves as the institutional memory of the Saint Louis Art Museum and documents its storied past. As with any institution dating back more than a century, the Museum has witnessed changing position titles that reflect both technological advancements and professionalization of certain departments. Some of the unique positions over the years have included sculptor attendant, coal runner, and night fireman.

Before the Museum hired its first permanent conservator in 1963, a string of contract conservators provided treatments for objects on a case-by-case basis. Thomas T. Hoopes, sole curator from 1936 to 1964, officially oversaw conservation work in his laboratory, which included an x-ray machine acquired from his local dentist. The Museum bylaws at that time placed the curator in charge of and responsible for the physical condition of all objects in the permanent collection. A tall task for a department of one! With the growth of the collection, Hoopes assigned the upkeep and care of specific galleries and their objects to trained guards. For example, Elliott Weil, a former vault attendant at a bank, served as the guard of the arms and armor gallery in what was then known as Gallery 9. Weil’s work included wiping down and oiling the armor on a regular basis. 

Brice Hailstock joined the Museum as one of the first African American employees in 1928. After serving as a custodian, Hailstock earned a promotion to guard in 1931. When the American period rooms were installed, Hailstock assumed responsibility for the new Level 1 galleries and their objects. On March 25, 1932, The St. Louis Argus, the longest-running Black newspaper in the city, reported on the keeper of the new American suite of period rooms: “Mr. Brice W. Hailstock . . . is in charge of this magnificent collection. He displays much intelligence together with a just pride in showing this beautiful section to visitors.”