Tamsen E. George

Tamsen George’s academic degree is in studio art and the history of art and architecture. Her career has primarily centered on historical preservation and non-profit arts administration, as Executive Director at Young Audiences of Massachusetts, Director at the Massachusetts Cultural Council and then as Head of Public Programs by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Subsequently, she was Executive Director of the Shirley-Eustis House Association’s site, Shirley Place, with its 1747 mansion/house. While there, she led the restoration of the house and grounds and moved and restored the now present carriage house to the site from Brookline. The carriage house was about to be demolished and was period appropriate for the Shirley Place site. It was placed where other outbuildings originally were, but had been torn down due to urban renewal.

While with the Shirley-Eustis Association, Tamsen found that there was not much known about Dr. William Eustis. Attention had gone to the British Royal Governor William Shirley, who had built the estate. After retirement, Tamsen decided to find out about William Eustis and began the lengthy discovery.

Tamsen pursued her interest in Dr. Eustis and investigated his significant life and involvement in the early development of the United States. This thorough research included investigatory travel both locally in Massachusetts and to places as diverse as Washington, DC, West Point in the Hudson Highlands and Paris, France. The story of his life and the culmination of her research was then meticulously developed into Allegiance, The Life and Times of William Eustis, published in Jan 2022. 

Throughout her 32-year professional career and post retirement, she has done a number of exhibits for museums and historic sites; some were on artifacts alone, while others were on costume or collective themes. She enjoys the creativity of repairing and restoring artifacts for display and using her skills as an artist, restoration expert and historian.

Tamsen is currently residing on Cape Cod. She serves on the Falmouth Historical Commission and served seven years as president of Falmouth Museums on the Green; she continues to support historic research, preservation and management.