Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900
This exhibition showcases the remarkable artistic production of women artists working in Paris during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Paris was the epicenter of the art world during this period, and while it was a cosmopolitan city, it remained strikingly conservative, particularly with respect to gender. Nevertheless, many women chose to work and study there. Women Artists in Paris reveals the breadth and strength of their achievements and features paintings created by women of varied nationalities and fame. These artists range from the well-known—Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Rosa Bonheur—to those less recognizable to US audiences, such as Kitty Kielland, Louise Breslau, and Anna Ancher.
Image credit: Marie Bashkirtseff (Ukrainian, 1858-1884), In the Studio, 1881, oil on canvas. 60 5/8 x 73 1/4 in. Dnipropetrovsk State Art Museum, Ukraine KH-4234. Photo: Dnipropetrovsk / Bridgeman Images. Courtesy American Federation of Arts. )
On view through September 3, 2018 Location: The Clark, Williamstown, MA
The New England Wireless and Steam Museum
In 1875 Rhode Island was the world center of the stationary steam industry. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) the New England Wireless and Steam Museum has the finest collection of Rhode Island made engines, together with the finest collection of original stationary steam engine drawings. Just a few of the remarkable things here: Armington & Sims steam engines, the favorite of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison; A Marconi distress transmitter, the same as Titanic’s; The first commercial transistor; and much more. The Yankee Steam-Up, held annually on a Saturday in the fall, is the museum’s major event. The museum’s steam engines run, the sparks fly, there is food, and steam fills the fall air. Exhibitors bring steam and gas engines, old autos, Stanley Steamers, motorcycles, odd self-powered machines & launches, and wide variety of engineering models.
Permanent Collection Location: East Greenwich, Rhode Island
Silo Songs
Have you ever been to the Sistine Chapel, where you sit on a bench leaning your back against the wall and look up at the ceiling? Imagine being inside a silo – for the first time in your life – leaning against the wall, looking up inside this majestic structure, and hearing separate male and female voices coming together in harmony. Inspired by early wordless Shaker songs, Brad Wells has designed an installation that offers visitors an immersive musical experience featuring some of the Shakers’ oldest melodies or, as they called them, ‘solemn songs’. The melodies are sung by Sam Amidon, Rhiannon Giddens, Eamon O’Leary, and Caroline Shaw – award-winning artists with decades of influential music making – and a choir of local Berkshire singers. Together they conjure the ecstatic feel of Shaker worship services and suggest the feeling that Mother Ann’s original singing evoked in her followers in which “the spacious apartment would ring with beautiful songs which no man could learn.”
On view now as a permanent sound installation in the historic silo Location: Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
Over There and Down Home: Mainers and World War I
The exhibit chronicles the United States’ journey from neutral country to a member of the Allied Forces through the lives and contributions of Mainers. From collective efforts of feeding and outfitting Allied troops before the U.S. entry into the war, to later supporting Liberty Bonds on the home front, Maine was an active participant in World War I. A particular focus of the new exhibition is on the experiences of the Maine National Guard, the Old 2nd Maine, as the unit transitioned to the 103rd Infantry in the 26th Division, known as the “Yankee Division.” The exhibition features many objects and stories from individual soldiers who belonged to that unit.
On view trhough November 11, 2018 Location: The Maine State Museum, Augusta, Maine
Richard W. Brown: The Last of the Hill Farms
In his latest book, The Last of the Hill Farms, photographer Richard W. Brown invites us to come with him into the private day-to-day of the people who shaped Vermont’s rugged hill farms. His pictures bring glimpses of everyday life through a lens that seems to compress time, connecting our 21st Century world with a simpler time through familiar landmarks. We travel unpaved roads to visit farms, homes, barns, fields and workspaces that appear more closely linked to the 19th century than today.
On view through December 2018 Location: Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, Vermont
The Best Editions of Several Volumes: John J. Slocum, His Library and the Redwood
The private library of John Jermain Slocum was the culmination of a lifelong devotion to books, nurtured by his family, his education, his relationships, his travels, and his own character. Through a selection of volumes from his library, the exhibit traces his life and his intellectual journey as a book collector of both skill and passion.
On view through October 14, 2018 Location: Redwood Library & Athenaeum, Newport, RI