THE DEAN F. FAILEY GRANT

The Decorative Arts Trust underwrites grants in support of noteworthy exhibition and object-based conservation projects through the Dean F. Failey Fund, named in honor of the Trust’s late Governor. Areas of interest include new scholarship in decorative arts, material culture, craftsmanship, and historic preservation.

Deadlines and Details

Grants for up to $15,000 are awarded on an annual basis. Organizations wishing to apply for consideration must submit a letter of inquiry by October 31 to thetrust@decorativeartstrust.org. Grant funds will be available as early as the subsequent January 1. The letter must describe the nature of the project and its impact on the field, and include CV’s for the project’s leaders as well as a budget and timeline. We prefer that the letter/narrative portion not exceed five pages. Please combine these sections into one single PDF file. Preference will be given to projects that employ or are led by young professionals in the museum field. The Trust also aims to support colleagues and projects that represent the full diversity of our field.

Recipients of the Dean F. Failey Grant:

• 2025:
  • Recipients Overview
  • Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
  • Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA
  • Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
  • Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia, PA
  • Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH
  • Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA
  • Wyck, Philadelphia, PA
•  2024:
  • Recipients Overview
  • Andrew Jackson Foundation, Nashville, TN
  • Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA
  • Fallingwater, Mill Run, PA
  • Museo de las Americas, Denver, CO
  • Newport Historical Society, Newport, RI
  • Tomaquag Museum, Exeter, RI
• 2023:
  • Recipients Overview
  • British and Irish Furniture Makers Online, London, England
  • The Center for Painted Wall Preservation, Hallowell, ME
  • Preservation Long Island, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
  • Stenton, Philadelphia, PA
• 2022:
  • Recipients Overview
  • Caitlin Meehye Beach, Bronx, NY
  • Historic Rock Ford, Lancaster, PA
  • New-York Historical Society, New York, NY
• 2021:
  • Recipients Overvirew
  • New-York Historical Society, New York, NY
  • Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, RI
  • Adrienne Childs, Cambridge, MA
  • Iris Moon, New York, NY
• 2020:
  • American Swedish Historical Museum, Philadelphia, PA
• 2019:
  • Boscobel House and Gardens, Garrison, NY
  • Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE
• 2018:
  • Yale University Art Gallery
• 2017:
  • Elias Pelletreau, Silversmith, Patriot, and Entrepreneur, Fall 2018
• 2016:
  • Elias Pelletreau, Long Island’s Paul Revere, Long Island Museum of American Art, Fall 2018