Are you wondering how much something is worth, or what it actually did way back when? Join us on Saturday, April 13 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for Bennington Museum’s Appraisal Fair. Bring family heirlooms or the odd, quirky piece you always wanted to know about, get it appraised and have your questions answered. Appraisals are $5 per item, with a limit of five items.

Who was Minnie Griswold and what her life was like are the questions being unwrapped in Up Home: Hand-Colored Photographs by Susanne and Neil Rappaport. First unveiled at the Vermont Folklife Center in February, 2018, the collection of over 45 hand-colored photographs taken in Minnie Griswold’s Pawlet, Vermont home are now on view at Bennington Museum, March 30 through June 11. This exhibition brings together the best in documentary work and artistic expression.

Are you ready to build your own instrument and then join in the concert? Join us on Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 pm in the Ada Paresky Education Center and Paul Paresky Court of the Bennington Museum, when Nick Brooke (faculty, Bennington College) Webb Crawford (Bennington College graduate) and Mark Stewart (founding member of Bang on a Can All Stars) present an Instrument building workshop where you, the audience members, build the instruments, then use those instruments to participate in an improvisational performance conducted by Mark Stewart.

On Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. in the Paresky Wing of the Bennington Museum, sculptor Sarah Peters discusses her studio practice in relationship to the history of American sculpture and representative objects in Bennington Museum’s vast collection. Join us to see what objects Peters has been researching in the Museum’s collection as the basis for her talk and for a small, special installation inside the museum.

Bennington Museum has wonderful Winter Vacation Workshops planned for all students who are in kindergarten through grade 4. From February 18 through the 22nd, (Not Wednesday, February 20) join in the exploration of winter for a day or for the week.

On Saturday, February 2 during FREE Community Day at the Bennington Museum, join the Curator of the Bennington Museum Jamie Franklin at 2:00 pm when he presents “A Battle of Bennington Veteran’s Portrait Rediscovered – and Acquired.” Learn about the fortunate circumstances that led to Bennington Museum’s acquisition of a tintype and miniature portrait of Lt. Jonathan Holton, a soldier in the Battle of Bennington. Franklin’s brief presentation serves as the introduction to “Sipp Ives – a Black Green Mountain Boy Killed at the Battle of Bennington” a talk given by Phil Holland and Lion Miles exploring the often overlooked stories of the black soldiers who fought in the American Revolution.

From its beginning, Bennington Museum has collected documents, objects, and art that reflect the region’s, and state’s, rich history.  This continues today.  However, over the past ten years the Museum has taken a new look at more recent works created by regional artists which has allowed the Museum and its visitors to further explore the rich history of Bennington and Vermont.  Many of these works have found their way into the Museum’s collection and are included in the opening exhibitions for 2019. Join us on Saturday, February 2 when admission to Bennington Museum is FREE for everyone from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

It is that time of year. Bennington Museum’s Festival is soon here and this year it celebrates the creativity of a wide range of work created by thirty-eight regional artists responding to the theme, Peace, Love, Harmony: 1960s Vermont. In 2019, the Museum will be looking back 50 years to the end of the 1960s with a cluster of exhibitions, celebrations, and events. This year’s Festival gets it started by looking at the lasting impact of the art and spirit of the 60s on today’s artists, and serves as a prelude to next summer’s major exhibition Fields of Change: 1960s Vermont. This lends itself to wonderful interpretations such as collage art, paintings, woodwork, textiles, sculpture, and more. Surprises will delight visitors in the galleries, as well as those who join us at the Gala on December 7 and on Family Day on December 1. The exhibition is open November 23 through December 28. The original artwork created by the regional artists is available to own through a closed-bid auction taking place November 23 through December 28, 4 pm. Stop in early and often at no charge to bid on that special gift while supporting the museum’s largest annual fundraiser.

Join Devin Colman, State Architectural Historian at the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation in Montpelier on Sunday, October 7 from 2:00 to 3:30 PM (followed with Q&A) as he presents Art & Architecture of the New Deal in Vermont. His illustrated talk takes place in the Ada Paresky Education Center of Bennington Museum and explores New Deal art and building programs of the 1930s, with an emphasis on projects undertaken in Vermont. A graduate of Colby College, Colman earned his MS in Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont. This presentation is free and includes admission to the Museum’s summer exhibition Crash to Creativity: The New Deal in Vermont.

On Saturday, October 13 at 2:00 p.m. William Hosley, historian, writer, photographer, and more, presents Adventures on the Prowl for Early Vermont Furniture. In this program, Hosley shares discoveries he attained from 40 years of sleuthing around small museums, private estates and estate auctions in search of Vermont-made furniture treasures. Beginning in the 1970s, curator and author Bill Hosley, conducted the first statewide survey of Vermont furniture and has been turning over stones in search ever since. $7 for members and $10 for not-yet-members includes Hosley’s talk and admission to the Early Vermont Gallery at Bennington Museum.