Hillwood curators say the desk may have been intended for Marie Antoinette before her marriage to the future Louis XVI of France. Post acquired it in New York in 1927. It looks just right against the wall in the French salon at Hillwood. Hillwood faces two more immediate issues. The first is how to encourage people to come when its guest list is limited to 250 visitors a day, an accommodation that keeps the peace with its residential neighbors.
Reservations are necessary and waits are common.
The second quandary is how to diversify and attract a younger audience. Until now, most visitors have been older, highly educated and female. The museum braved focus groups to learn what it could do differently. People come in with a chip on their shoulder. Hillwood has tried to learn from the experience.