Grandma Moses "Catching the Turkey", 1955,
Copyright © Grandma Moses Properties, New York
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December 2020
Bennington Museum Monthly
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We hope that everyone in our Bennington Museum community had a happy Thanksgiving this year. The festivities may have been smaller and vacations may have been pushed off until a safer future, but still, here in Vermont, there is much to be thankful for. If you have a particular moment that you have been grateful for this year, share your Thanksgiving thoughts with us by sending a note to ideas@benningtonmuseum.org. With your permission, we will share some of your positive reflections with the rest of our community to help us regain perspective and remember the important things in life as we move into the holiday season.
Speaking of which, we have lots of exciting exhibitions and events coming up this month. Winter begins in a few days, but that doesn't mean we slow down here!
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New exhibitions this December |
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VERMONT UTOPIAS: IMAGINING THE FUTURE
The winter exhibition and closed-bid auction is now open, in person and online through December 28th! We invite you to explore creations by 25 regional contemporary artists who have responded to the simple prompt: “What is your vision for the future of Vermont?” The works on view are part of the Museum's annual end-of-year fundraising events and are available for purchase with proceeds benefitting both the Museum and the participating artists.
How does a closed-bid auction work?
The Closed-Bid Auction of exhibited artwork opened at 10am on November 27 and will close at 4pm on December 21, 2020. Each bidder must fill out a bid card while visiting the Museum, or submit an online bid form available on our website. Winners of the closed-bid process will be notified on December 22nd, and appointments may be made to collect pieces before January 15th.
Happy bidding, and thank you for your support!
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ACROSS THE STREET: HISTORIC BENNINGTON
In partnership with the Better Bennington Corporation and the Town of Bennington, Bennington Museum has been working on a historic downtown signage project over the past month.
Twenty photographs from the Museum's collection have been reproduced on lamppost panels on the streets around Putnam Square. These photographs, dating as early as 1862, show the changing buildings in the area surrounding the Four Corners created by the intersection of Vermont Routes 7 and 9. The images record major losses (the Bennington Opera House burned in 1959), as well as survivors (the Hotel Putnam is currently being rehabilitated) and allow us to take a peek into Bennington's storied past.
Beginning December 1st, you can take a walking tour downtown to compare the scenes on the panels with the current buildings across the street, or you can visit our website to see the old and the new side by side. The Four Corners kiosk will feature a map, which will also soon be available digitally. We encourage everyone to get outside this holiday season and learn something new about Bennington!
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Tuesday, 12/01
noon - 1pm
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A virtual conversation with the artist
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Saturday, 12/12
7pm - 9pm
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A virtual fundraising event for the whole family
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Thursday, 12/17
1:30pm - 2:30pm
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A FREE virtual workshop for preschoolers and caregivers
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History at Bennington Museum |
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THE WALLOOMSACK REVIEW
Now in its 13th year, this locally published bi-annual publication of Bennington Museum presents a wide range of articles about the history and culture of Vermont and neighboring New York and Massachusetts. The recently published Fall issue, Volume 27, is now available for purchase either digitally or in hardcopy. Note, if you are a Museum member at the Director's Circle level and above, you receive a complementary copy!
Highlights in Volume 27 include:
The Transition from Homespun Flax to Machine-Made Cotton Textiles by Michele Pagan
The Evolution of Women's Suffrage in Vermont by Dawn and Ray Rodrigues
In Their Own Words: 3,000 Letters Relive Earlier Generations by Margarette Beckwith
Vermont’s First Auto Fatality Site by Philip R. Jordan
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Sign up for the current issues or purchase past issues in the Museum Store. |
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THE BENNINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Bennington Historical Society (BHS) is a volunteer-operated program of the Bennington Museum dedicated to sharing information about the history of the Bennington region with the community through projects, publications, videos, and programs. The latest BHS newsletter can be found on the Museum website and includes articles about the Spanish Flu, the Gateway to Freedom, and the proposed trolley line bike path from Bennington to Williamstown. The archives of material these volunteers have diligently put together over the years is vast, and provides perfect reading for a winter's day by the fire!
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Giving Tuesday is Coming Up
At Bennington Museum, we are proud of all we have accomplished this season, and are honored to have offered a safe gathering place for this dedicated and generous community during this challenging time. Now we need your help to continue building on this momentum!
We will come out of this global pandemic a different organization than we were when we went in, but with your support, we will still be here to provide compelling art work and in-depth snapshots of our shared history. The staff will still welcome you into our building and provide you with the information you need to explore the region.
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Bennington Museum engages and transforms our visitors and our community by connecting you to the region’s diverse arts, rich history, and culture of innovation.
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