A Nursery Wall

[click on wall for larger image]

On September 10, 2001, the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center received the delivery of a wall of original Schulz art from the Colorado home of Polly and Stanley Travnicek. The wall arrived by special truck at a Schulz storage facility in Santa Rosa, where it was stored until its installation in the Museum. Its arrival marked the successful outcome of a major effort on the part of Museum staff and consultants to remove the wall without endangering the stability of the unique Schulz artwork or damaging the house of the Travniceks.

Drawings of Schulz's famed Peanuts characters on a 8x12-foot wall were uncovered by the Travniceks after they purchased their Colorado Springs home more than twenty years ago. The wall, which includes images of Snoopy when he still bounded around on all fours and Charlie Brown jumping over a candlestick, was painted by Schulz when he and his young family lived in the house in 1951.

Uncovering a Treasure
The Travniceks purchased the house from Polly's sister in 1979, with the knowledge that neighbors had claimed Charles Schulz painted figures on the wall when he lived in the house. After checking with Schulz about the kind of paint he used, Polly spent two months removing the layers covering the artwork, using a roll of cotton and cans of Red Devil Sanding Liquid. In 1999, when Schulz was diagnosed with cancer, the Travniceks offered to donate the wall to the Schulz Museum, then in its planning stages; both Travniceks and their daughter were all cancer survivors.

"When our neighbor told us of the treasures that lay beneath the layers of paint on our home's wall, we knew we had discovered something priceless," said Polly Travnicek. "My family has enjoyed the wall for the over twenty years that we have lived here in Colorado Springs. But in 1999, when we learned of Mr. Schulz's diagnosis and that a new museum would be opening, we knew exactly where the wall should be. We are honored to have made a contribution to such a wonderful place. But that doesn't mean that those lovable Peanuts characters won't remain in our hearts!"

"It was exciting to know that we would be able to display such a unique and early example of Schulz's work," said Ruth Gardner Begell, founding Director of the Schulz Museum. "The Travnicek's donation is one of the most amazing examples of the generosity extended to us by so many people who have offered their original Schulz works of art to the Museum. Here in Santa Rosa, the wall will be preserved as part of the Schulz legacy for future generations."

From Colorado to California
After the complicated and delicate process of removing the entire outside wall from the Travnicek's home took place on Friday, September 7, 2001, a new one was installed immediately. The original wall then headed to Santa Rosa in an environmentally controlled truck to a Schulz storage facility. The wall is exhibited in a specially-designated area of the Museum.

View pictures and a QuickTime Movie of the wall removal from the Travnicek's Colorado Springs home.