Museums & Galleries in New England

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The museums of New England offer a window into the astonishing variety of art, history, culture, and science that is typical of all of New England. Every state has museum exhibits and images that are famous across the nation and the world: the historic homes of Mark Twain and Harriett Beecher Stowe in Connecticut; the paintings of Winslow Homer in Maine; Early American and maritime history along the coast. Specialized or quirky subjects – museums of Russian icons or American urban trolleys – can be found around any corner. Museum visits are a great indoor thing to do on a family vacation.

Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, MA - New England Museums & Galleries

Concord Museum

35 Cambridge Turnpike at Lexington Road Concord, MA, 01742 Phone: 978-369-9763

Exploring historic Concord? Begin at the Concord Museum!

For a small town, Concord has a big history. From the “shot heard round the world” to the writers of the American literary renaissance, things have happened here, words have been spoken here and books have been written here which changed the face of a nation. Over time, Concord has become a symbol of liberty and intellectual freedom. And nowhere is that important heritage captured more dramatically than at the Concord Museum. An inspiring collection of American treasures includes the 1775 “one, if by land, two, if by sea” Revere lantern, Thoreau’s Walden desk and Emerson’s Study. Linger in engaging history galleries, enjoy the beauty of Concord antiques, and create your own memories with family-friendly activities. Open daily year round.

Whitehorne House Museum

416 Thames Street Newport, RI, 02840 Phone: 401-849-7300

Craftsmanship and beauty of colonial Newport’s artisans on display at historic home

When the Whitehorne House Museum reopens in May 2022, visitors will encounter the artistry and craft of 18th-century Newport furniture and decorative arts. The collection ranges from mahogany case furniture with block-and-shell motifs, graceful tea tables with distinctive Newport ball-and-claw feet, to textiles, silver, and ceramics representative of the era. The museum, housed in a restored Federal-style brick home along Newport’s historic Thames Street waterfront, celebrates the art, industry, and ingenuity of craftspeople from the well-known Townsend and Goddard workshops and unnamed, highly skilled craftspeople working in Newport.
Open seasonally March-early January - Gor information about operating hours please check the Whitehorne House Museum website.

America's Stonehenge

105 Haverhill Road Salem, NH, 03079 Phone: 603-893-8300

The hidden truths of America, right in your backyard

Did other Europeans with knowledge of astronomy and stone construction reach North America a thousand years or more ahead of Columbus? Some say they came and left evidence of their visits -- megaliths and stone chambers -- throughout New England. You can explore one of the largest collections of artifacts at America's Stonehenge in Salem, New Hampshire. Some believe the site includes a stone astronomical calendar, like the one found at Stonehenge. A video in our museum gives you all the background you'll need. Then it's time to hit the half-mile trail through the pine forest to see for yourself. Along the way you may meet a few alpacas who share the property. Don't worry -- they're gentle creatures who enjoy greeting visitors.

Steamship Historical Society of America

2500 Post Road Warwick, RI, 02886 Phone:

Steamship Historical Society of America is dedicated to recording, preserving and disseminating the history of engine-powered vessels. Its Warwick building contains a growing collection of paintings, half-models, and maritime artwork by noteworthy artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. The society’s interactive website virtually distributes some of the organization's vast archives with a worldwide audience. The site includes lesson plans for teachers at "STEAMing Into the Future. The society welcomes steamship enthusiasts to submit articles for publication in the magazine “PowerShips.” The society building and archives are open by appointment.

Worcester Art Museum

55 Salisbury Street Worcester, MA, 01609 Phone: 508-799-4406

Museum noted for vast, varied collections and, now, new ways of viewing art

Since it first opened its doors in1896, the Worcester Art Museum has been amazing visitors with its vast collections, now encompassing 38,000 objects from around the globe and from ancient to modern times. With newly imagined ways of presenting art and engaging visitors, the museum continues to delight, from newly reinstalled medieval galleries with an expanded arms and armor collection to modern ways of looking at Old Masters. Visitors can contribute “alternative labels” to different works via iPads, create their own art on community days or just stroll through galleries featuring the contributions of Paul Revere and stunning Japanese folding screens. Upcoming exhibit topics range from kimonos to the history of stolen art to baseball jerseys. See the website for timed-ticket admission information and safety protocols.

Springfield Art Gym - Your Place in Vermont - Okemo Valley

Okemo Valley - Your Place in Vermont

Learn about local history, explore enticing galleries while on your valley vacation

No vacation is complete without time spent browsing local galleries, museums and other cultural venues. The Okeno Valley region offers a wealth of places for visitors to explore, learn about local history and surround themselves with the beautiful creations of the area’s accomplished artists and artisans. At the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, the village of Plymouth Notch, where he grew up, has been preserved. At the Weston Historical Society & Museums, you’ll see how a water-powered grist mill was used. At the Billings Farm & Museum, you can explore a dairy farm and participate in hands-on activities. And art galleries feature everything from contemporary art to photography and children’s book illustrations. Also on display are crafts including pottery, pewter and glass objects and jewelry.

Pilgrim Hall Museum

75 Court Street Plymouth, MA, 02360 Phone: 508-746-1620

Remarkable historical artifacts from the age of the Pilgrims

A museum of extraordinary historical value, Pilgrim Hall’s mission is to protect, foster, and teach America’s important heritage. Built in 1824 in the center of Plymouth, this is the nation’s oldest continuously operating public museum. Long before the Pilgrims, however, this land belonged to the Wampanoag peoples for more than 10,000 years and the story of their relationship with colonial peoples is here. You’ll see a remarkable collection of Pilgrim possessions, paintings and artifacts. William Bradford’s Bible is here, as is Myles Standish’s sword and the earliest sampler made in America, embroidered by his teenage daughter. You’ll find also the only portrait painted from life of a Pilgrim and the cradle that was made for New England’s very first–born.

Railroad Museum of New England

242 East Main Street Thomaston, CT, 06787 Phone: 860-283-7245

This museum, celebrating railroading, really does ask you to get on board!

Talk about a moving experience! At the Railroad Museum of New England, the actual trains tell their story of the region’s rich railroad history. In addition to educational exhibits, the museum hosts a diverse collection representing New England railroading, including locomotives (diesel and steam), passenger and freight cars, a crane, a plow – and, of course, cabooses, including the bright red Boston & Maine C-72 caboose built in 1921. Scenic rides and holiday excursions on the Naugatuck Railroad from the historic Thomaston Station, most lasting about an hour and 20 minutes, are a treat for train-lovers of all ages. Ask about the Chocolate Decadence and Spirit-Tasting tours, and don’t forget the Pumpkin Patch train and Santa Express.

Early American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA - Photo Credit Avery Samuels & VisitNewEngland

Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Art, science, history and so much more celebrated in the eclectic museums of Boston

Gaze at the gardens of Monet, hobnob with dinosaurs, admire a Venetian courtyard: Boston’s museums are waiting for you! From the Museum of Fine Arts, with its collection of Impressionist art, to the Museum of Science with dinosaurs and a butterfly garden, there is something for everyone in this vibrant city. See tea getting tossed at the Tea Party Ships & Museum, or let the kids climb a three-story structure in the Boston Children’s Museum. Check out sculptures at the Institute of Contemporary Art in the bustling Seaport district, walk through the Paul Revere House or take the Black Heritage Trail. Visit the gorgeous Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, modeled after a Venetian palazzo, or learn inspiring stories at the Museum of Afro-American History.

Canterbury Shaker Village

288 Shaker Road Canterbury, NH, 03224 Phone: 603-783-9511

National Historic Landmark Celebrates the Shakers

The Shaker religious sect is considered by many historians to be the most successful communitarian society in America. This beautiful outdoor museum and National Historic Landmark was once home to 300 Shakers. Today, expert tour guides share the story of the Shakers’ 200-year history on this site and their beliefs in simple living, gender equality, pacifism, and work as worship. Explore the architecture and collections in the Village’s 25 restored historic buildings, learn about Shaker inventiveness and industry, and explore 700 acres including organic gardens, orchards, and scenic mill pond. See craft demonstrations of oval box making, letterpress printing, and broom making. Enjoy a simple lunch at the Horse Barn Cafe and shop New Hampshire’s premier store for Shaker reproductions. Richly authentic, Canterbury Shaker Village is a place for learning, reflection and renewal of the human spirit.

Mount Washington Cog Railway

Off Route 302 Bretton Woods, NH, 03589 Phone: 603-278-5404 Toll-Free: 800-922-8825

This exciting railway ride up Mt. Washington also comes with museums at both ends of the trip

Not many train rides can boast museums at either end of the ride. When you travel up majestic Mt. Washington on the historic Cog Railway, the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world, you begin at the Marshfield Base Station, which houses the interactive (and free) Cog Railway Museum. Open year-round, the museum shows you how the railroad, celebrating its 152nd season, was built, with examples of technology from past eras, including steam engines. Up at the summit of Mt. Washington, you’ll have time to explore the Sherman Adams Visitor Center and rooftop observation deck as well as an interactive weather exhibit, “Extreme Mount Washington.” Adjacent to the center is the Tip Top House, an original summit hotel dating back to 1853 and now a museum. Trains run from late April through November.

Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, off Route 20 Sturbridge, MA, 01566 Phone: 508-347-3362 Toll-Free: 800-733-1830

Historical objects, demonstrations, buildings and stories show what life was like in 19th-century New England

Exhibitions and buildings in Old Sturbridge Village are designed to help visitors visualize what life was like in the 1830s in a typical rural New England town. To that end, you can see barrels being made, cloth woven and lumber sawed. You can ride in a horse-drawn wagon, play games and listen to storytellers. Costumed historians answer questions about what it’s like to be a blacksmith, printer or tinner. Gardens boast 400 heirloom plants, and the Freeman Farm hosts heritage-breed cattle sheep, pigs and chickens. Exhibitions range from displays of clocks and glass to a history of parades and parade traditions from 1776 to 1940. See the inner workings of a Cider Mill, Pottery Shop and an extensive collection of agricultural tools at the Fitch House.

Connecticut River Museum

67 Main Street, Steamboat Dock Essex, CT, 06426 Phone: 860-767-8269

Artifacts, artwork, activities and adventures: It’s all happening at this river museum

Artifacts and artwork that tell the story of the importance of the Connecticut River and the river valley are just part of what makes the Connecticut River Museum well worth a visit. Permanent and special exhibits show the lives of Native American communities along the river and convey the excitement of the speed-racing era, in the first half of the 20th century. There’s a three-floor river mural and an operational model of the Turtle, the first submarine to be used in combat, in 1776. The museum also hosts live entertainment with its Thursdays on the Dock series, offers cruises aboard an eco-tour boat and a re-created 1614 sailing vessel as well as drop-in Summer Fun Days for kids 6 through 12.

American Heritage Museum

568 Main Street Hudson, MA, 01749 Phone: 978-562-9182

Interact with the nation’s heritage and military past at this stunning museum

The museum is now open! Wednesdays-Sundays from 10am-5pm. Advance ticketing is preferred - Please call or visit our website.

Explore America’s conflicts, from the Revolution to the War on Terror, at the immersive American Heritage Museum, where visitors walk through expertly detailed dioramas and exhibits that feature the vehicles and equipment to key to the nation’s fight to preserve freedom through the years. There’s a Ford Model T ambulance in the World War I trench exhibit, a Higgins Boat landing craft in the D-Day exhibit, a Sherman jumbo tank in the Battle of the Bulge diorama, a piece of the Berlin Wall in the exhibit marking the Cold War. The museum also hosts living-history events, including tank demonstration days and World War II re-enactments, and features a 9/11 video exhibit recounting the effort to intercept one of the hijacked planes.

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium - Northeast Kingdom VT Travel and Tourism Association - Get NEKed

Vermont's Northeast Kingdom

Museums throughout the Northeast Kingdom celebrate history, natural world – and puppets!

Exciting adventures await in the Northeast Kingdom, home to breathtaking scenery and a hub for outdoor recreation, arts and culture and a growing foodie scene. Ski, snowshoe, bike or hike the region’s gorgeous woodland, lakefront and mountain trails. Spend an afternoon at a farmer’s market (do not leave without maple syrup), in the Museum of Everyday Life or in the Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium. Catch a Circus Smirkus or Bread and Puppet performance or an outdoor concert. Go water skiing, fishing, swimming, kayaking or paddle boarding in a pristine lake, take a covered-bridge tour, visit a county fair, go golfing or check out the wide range of dining options, from farm-to-table restaurants to award-winning breweries and old-fashioned diners.

Warwick Center for the Arts

3259 Post Road Warwick, RI, 02886 Phone: 401-737-0010

Warwick Center for the Arts is tucked into a block in one of the city’s historic village centers, cheek-to-cheek with City Hall, the local library, and the post office, all of which are historical buildings. The Center for the Arts is a bustling space: the main gallery showcases art exhibits that change every four to six weeks with a festive opening reception for each. The main gallery also hosts art demos, gallery talks, film screenings, and occasional social events for the community. The stage in the main gallery provides intimate performance space for artists of all types. Weekly laughs are provided by Bring Your Own Improv comedy troupe—two shows each Friday. Other performers who have graced the stage include poets, student musicians from the RI Philharmonic, and ethnic dance troupes.

Clouds Hill Museum

4157 Post Road Warwick, RI, 02886 Phone: 401-884-9490

A portal to the past...

This house, in the National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1872. Visitors have noted the high quality of the property as a pure and authentic example of the Victorian period. The house was designed by William Walker & Sons, who designed many Rhode Island buildings. Experts see right away that the fireplace setting was carved by Charles Dowler, whose pieces are fine enough for display in many museums, Well-known members of the family include Roger Williams, Zachariah Allen, Samuel Slater, and Anne “Nancy” Allen Holst. The carriage museum has a dozen vehicles and their accessories. The property has 70 species of trees and shrubs.

Rough Point

680 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI, 02840 Phone: 401-847-8344

From couture fashion to fine and decorative arts, this museum a treat for those who admire history and art

Featuring fashion and decorative fine arts from around the world collected by heiress and preservationist Doris Duke, Rough Point Museum is a must see. From room to room, from the grand Music Room to state-of-the-art Kitchen to the cozy Pine Room, you will encounter objects from a Tiffany swan centerpiece, portraits by Anthony Van Dyck, gilded Rococo screens, and a Yuan dynasty jar. Yearly special exhibitions highlight the variety of Doris Duke’s interests, from her philanthropy, to preservation, to collecting art and fashion. The mansion’s grounds, designed by the firm of F.L. Olmsted & Co., offer stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Open seasonally March-early January - Gor information about operating hours please check the Rough Point website.

Harbor View - Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum - Provincetown, MA

Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum

1 High Pole Hill Road Provincetown, MA Phone: 508-487-1310

The Pilgrim Monument, a granite obelisk dedicated in 1910, is adjacent to the Provincetown Museum on a hill above the town. The Provincetown Museum describes the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims, the town’s maritime history, the early days of American theater in Provincetown. See a reproduction of a sea captain’s home and his quarters at sea. Last Monument climb is 30 minutes before closing.
2022 Season Hours: Wed.-Mon. 10am - 5pm, Closed Tuesdays.
Admission: Adults $20, Seniors 65+ and Teens 13-17 $16, Children 4-12 $9, 3 & Under are Free.

Harvard Peabody Museum of Natural History Cambridge MA Crdit Alex Jaffe- Crimson

Harvard Museum of Natural History

26 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA, 02138 Phone: 617-495-3045

Dinosaurs, Glass Flowers, Meteorites – Explorers Welcome!

One of the four Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, this museum displays some 11,000 specimens drawn from Harvard’s vast collections, including the Blaschka Glass Flowers, Sea Creatures in Glass, huge whale skeletons, hundreds of mammals, birds, and the world’s only mounted skeleton of the 42 foot-long Kronosaurus. Explore a timeline of Earth’s history, and see 3,000 rare minerals and gemstones. New and changing multi-media exhibitions showcase cutting-edge research. The museum is an easy 8-minute walk across Harvard’s historic campus from Harvard Square’s popular shops, restaurants and MBTA station. The museum is connected to Harvard’s Peabody Museum, and one admission fee covers both museums.

Bruce Museum

One Museum Drive Greenwich, CT, 06830 Phone: 203-869-0376

Variety of viewpoints from scientific to artistic on display at this eclectic museum

Advance reservation, with timed ticketing, is required. Masks are required, but must not have an exhalation valve or vent.
Explore the world through the lenses of art, science and natural history at the magnificent Bruce Museum. The museum’s vast and growing collections include minerals, fossils, history, art, textiles, science, animals and ethnology. Visitors, through docent-led or self-guided audio tours on their phones, can marvel at dinosaur tracks or mounted extinct species like passenger pigeons or become lost in the paintings of Childe Hassam, the sculpture of Auguste Rodin or the photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Decorative arts include French art glass, art pottery and Staffordshire puzzle pipes. There are ladies’ gowns and accessories from the 19th century, crystals and meteorites, shells from around the world and so much more.

Naval War College Museum

686 Cushing Road Newport, RI, 02841 Phone: 401-841-4052

Naval history, strategies come alive in war college museum

Want to learn about naval activities in the Narragansett Bay area in colonial times? Or how the science of naval warfare has changed from the time of the Greeks and Romans through the Civil War, both World Wars to today? Then head to the Naval War College Museum, free and open to the public, where naval battles and strategies come to life via changing art collections, exhibits and documents. Starting Dec. 14, learn about the Navy’s role in World War I from the new exhibit, “To Win or Lose All: William S. Sims and the U.S. Navy in the First World War.”
Year round hours: Monday -Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed weekends & federal holidays. Reservations and Passes required in advance for those without base access - please call ahead of time to arrange your visit.

The Glass House

199 Elm Street New Canaan, CT, 06840 Phone: 203-594-9884

Unique architectural treasure in New Canaan

This remarkable showcase for contemporary architecture was the country home and is now a museum of architect Philip Johnson’s work and style. You’ll find 14 unique structures each with their own function. The Glass House is a clear box, without walls, without privacy in fact, not a single house at all. Instead of walking from room to room, Johnson walked from building to building on paths criss-crossing his property. The pavilion was designed for parties and viewing the scenic landscape. Johnson slept and read in the Brick House and studied and worked in the library. The Grainger had air conditioning and the TV. Today the entire 49-acre compound is a National Trust Historic Site. Open May 1 to November 30.

Exhibit - Harvard Semitic Museum - Cambridge, MA

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

6 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA, 02138 Phone: 617-495-4631

Museum’s thousands of artifacts illuminate the culture of the Near East

Founded in 1889, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East explores the rich history of cultures connected by the family of Semitic languages. Its more than 40,000 artifacts, including pottery, sculpture, coins and cuneiform tablets, come primarily from Harvard-sponsored excavations in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Tunisia. Exhibits range from a full-scale replica of an ancient Israelite home to a full-scale reproduction of an Egyptian throne from 2550 BC and a resin cast of the Dream Stela, found between the paws of the Great Sphinx. Lecture topics at the free museum, one of the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture, include photographing King Tut and old and new discoveries about the Nubian kings and queens of Kush.

Mark Twain House & Museum

351 Farmington Avenue Hartford, CT, 06105 Phone: 860-247-0998

A national historic landmark, the Mark Twain House & Museum offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about Mark Twain, his family, the historic house, and the author's legacy. Take tours of the historic home where the man himself lived and wrote his most famous works including Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Visit the Museum Center which houses a permanent exhibition on Twain's life and work, a theatre showing a Ken Burns mini-documentary on Twain, and a changing exhibition space that features an array of views on the great author. House tours run daily beginning at 9:30 A.M. with the last tour leaving at 4:30 P.M., while the Museum Center is open for self-guided visitation during regular hours.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

77 Forest Street Hartford, CT, 06105 Phone: 860-522-9258

Stowe Center features a treasure trove about historic abolitionist author

Listed as a National Historic Landmark and a stop on the Connecticut Freedom Trail as well as on the Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is a treasure trove of collections that illuminate the life of and issues that stirred the famous abolitionist author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Rotating exhibits deal with the life of slaves and the role of women. Collections include paintings (some by the author), memorabilia inspired by “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” the dining table where the book was written, decorative arts, rare manuscripts, drawings and household furnishings from the Beecher and Stowe families. In all, 228,000 items illustrate the lives and times of Stowe and her family. Interactive tours of her Victorian Gothic cottage leave visitors inspired.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

At Harvard University - 11 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA, 02138 Phone: 617-496-1027

Experience the World in One Museum

Explore towering Native American totem poles, large Maya sculptures, and artifacts of the ancient world at Harvard’s anthropology museum. Ambient sound, motion, and historic and contemporary Plains art animate nineteenth century Lakota drawings from a warrior’s ledger collected at the Little Bighorn battlefield. Discover the native cultures of Latin America before and after 1492, when the first voyage of Christopher Columbus initiated dramatic worldwide changes. Explore the enduring importance of rivers and canoes in Penobscot tribal life and on relationships between the tribe and non-Indians. See how students lived at colonial Harvard, and the role of the 17th-century Indian College in Harvard’s early years. Trace the history of early anthropology through the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and more in the museum’s 150th anniversary exhibition. Admission to the connected Harvard Museum of Natural History and its famed Glass Flowers is included. Open daily 9:00 AM–5:00 PM.

Woven Power Install 500x250 - Cantor Art Gallery - Worcester, MA

Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery

College of the Holy Cross - 1 College Street Worcester, MA, 01610 Phone: 508-793-3356

Artwork that educates and inspires

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery promotes the intellectual and cultural life of the College of the Holy Cross and greater community by exploring the fundamental intellectual, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic issues encountered through the visual arts.
Throughout the academic year the gallery presents a series of exhibitions, which vary from historically significant themes to works by contemporary artists. Serving as a center for social activity, the gallery sponsors a lively schedule of receptions, guest lectures, readings, and students’ presentations. The Cantor Gallery is Free and open to the public. Current exhibition information and hours of operation can be found on the gallery’s website.

Shelburne Museum

U.S. Route 7 - P.O. Box 10 Shelburne, VT, 05482 Phone: 802-985-3346

This super-cool museum on the edge of Lake Champlain is filled with unusual attractions that are sure to entertain every person in the family. Kids and parents will love the authentic paddlewheel steamboat Ticonderoga, which was a workhourse of passenger and cargo transportation on the lake for decades in the 19th century. Shelburne Museum is one of the nation’s most eclectic museums of art, Americana, and design, displaying 150,000 objects on 45 acres in 25 historic New England buildings. There's even a lighthouse. A full day of family fun waits here.
Hours: Open Tues-Sun May 15 through late October, 10am - 5pm.
Museum Admission: Adults $25, Ages 13-17 $14, Ages 5-12 $12, Under 5 Free. Discounts available for VT residents, students, seniors, Museum or AAA members, and active military.

Yale Center for British Art

1080 Chapel Street New Haven, CT, 06510 Phone: 203-432-2800 Toll-Free: 877-274-8278

America’s home of the finest in British Art

The YCBA houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, encompassing works in a range of media from the Elizabethan period to the present day. It offers exhibitions and programs year-round, including lectures, concerts, films, symposia, tours, and family events. Museum Hours: Tues–Sat, 10am–5pm; Sun, Noon–5pm. Museum Shop hours: Mon–Sat, 10am–5pm; Sun, Noon–5pm. Free and open to the public.

Farnsworth Art Museum and Wyeth Center

16 Museum Street Rockland, ME, 04841 Phone: 207-596-6457

Farnsworth presents beloved Maine outdoor images

The stern beauty of Maine and the manifold ways it has been expressed by Maine-loving artists is the driving theme of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, just steps away from the coastline that has inspired artists for centuries. The museum was opened in 1948 and it quickly acquired paintings by, among others, George Bellows, William Zorach, and Andrew Wyeth. These and others established Farnsworth’s main strength: landscapes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early purchases included Eastman Johnson’s American Farmer, George Inness’s In the White Mountains, and Winslow Homer’s New England Coast. From the start, the Farnsworth built a relationship with the Wyeth family of artists, including Andrew, N.C., and Jamie Wyeth. The museum’s holdings of contemporary art have been significantly expanded.

Slater Memorial Museum and Converse Art Gallery

Norwich Free Academy - 108 Crescent Street Norwich, CT, 06360 Phone: 860-887-2506

Unique museum offers the past in a magnificent edifice

Set on the campus of Norwich Free Academy in Norwich CT, this unique museum was founded by philanthropist William A. Slater more than a century ago. Housed in a stunning architectural treasure designed by architect Stephen C. Earle. The museum offers a diverse collection of fine and decorative arts, replicas of great Greek and Roman sculpture, historical artifacts, and ethnographic material spanning five continents and 35 centuries. Exhibits rotate regularly. See film screenings, discussions, book signings, and other events. An interpreter-guided tour is free with admission. The Museum shop is filled with unique gifts, including fine art prints and reproductions, the works of Connecticut artisans, and other items. Open year round, Tuesday-Sunday.