Tiffany Family, Safford Street, Bennington Photographer unknown, ca.1885 (altered 2020) Original Photograph, Collection of Bennington Museum

Works on Paper Gallery is (re)Sounding, on view through May 25
Artist/musicians and co-curators of this exhibition Angus McCullough, Jake Nussbaum, and Adam Tinkle bring new life to old instruments. Each musical instrument in the Bennington Museum collection has its own unique story, but have remained silent for decades. McCullough, Nussbaum, and Tinkle have worked with the museum’s curatorial staff to meet the instruments where they are, using their current state to generate new sounds. The exhibit explores the histories and traditional sounds of the instruments and provides opportunities to hear them brought back to life in new compositions.

Wedding dress worn by Minerva Lawrence, March 18, 1886. Gift of the Minerva L. Bradford Estate Bennington Museum Collection

Love, Marriage, & Divorce, on view March 28 – June 10
Love can bring out the best and the worst of us. Social customs that apply to love, marriage, and yes, divorce, have changed over the years, and human nature continues to shift the needle as to what is proper and acceptable. This exhibition looks at topics such as the changing role of parents’ influence over their children’s wedded bliss, the norms of promises, sex, and babies (expected and not expected), who was responsible for what in the marriage, the role of the church in the governance of marriage and divorce, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, same sex relationships, child support, the roles of both the husband and wife in a relationship, and what their families were expected to bring to the table, and of course, romance. Some of these topics were as controversial 200 years ago, some of them are controversial today. Is it the times that have changed or human nature?

Apple Tree & Grindstone, 1923-detail J.J Lankes (1884-1960) Wood engraving, 3 1/8 x 4 1/8 inches (image)

Coming Soon!   Robert Frost, “At Present in Vermont” – June 27 – November 3
Frost’s life and work as a poet and farmer in Bennington County, 1920 – 1938.  Robert Frost moved to Shaftsbury, Vermont in 1920, intending to establish an apple orchard. During his time there, he interacted with such local cultural figures as Dorothy Canfield Fisher and Rockwell Kent and wrote some of his best-known poems, including the iconic, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” This exhibit examines Frost’s life and work in the context of the landscape and culture of Bennington County from 1920 – 19380.

Bennington Museum is a member of ArtCountry, a consortium of notable art and performance destinations in the scenic northern Berkshires of Massachusetts and southern Green Mountains of Vermont, including The Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art , Williamstown Theatre Festival (20 minutes away); and MASS MoCA (25minutes away). Visit ArtCountry.org for more information on these five great cultural centers.