|
Shelburne Museum Quilt Exhibits
The Patchwork Quilts of Rosie Lee Tompkins at the Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum Quilt Exhibitions - Shelburne, Vermont
Shelburne is nationally known for its exhibits, including its collection of antique quilts. In addition to its own collection, the museum regularly hosts special quilt shows. In the summer of 2007, it featured three special quilting exhibitions: "The Patchwork Art of Rosie Lee Tompkins," "Stars and Bars: A Gift of Amish Quilts," and "Contemporary Vermont Quilts."
While the quilts were the drawing card for our visit, once we arrived we discovered how unique the Shelburne is. The "museum" isn't what one would normally expect. It is actually a 45 acre village of 39 restored or reconstructed buildings reproducing various aspects of living in 18th and 19th century Vermont. Each of the buildings either exhibited artifacts related to its original function (i.e. Blacksmith Shop) or served to house specific museum collections (the quilts were located in one of the 39 buildings along with hats and other textile exhibits). The Shelburne admission ticket is good for two days and as we discovered two days are needed for a halfway decent sampling of what it offers.
Some of the exhibits Jo most enjoyed were the doll house collection, the glassware and ceramics exhibits, the weaving cottage, early American paintings, the Impressionist Paintings, the Vermont Settlers House-Cabin, the Dutton House Tavern, and the 1950s House. Some of the exhibits I enjoyed and I think would interest most husbands of quilters were: the early 1900s train station restoration, the Ticonderoga Lake Champlain Steamboat, the Blacksmith Shop, the hand tools exhibit in the Shaker Shed, the saw mill, and the 1950s house with a 1953 Pontiac “Woody” station wagon parked outside.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
|
The Round Barn had three levels with special exhibits on each level. The main level hosted the Vermont Contemporary Quilts. One level down was the E-Bay Celebrity Online Collection and the lowest level had a Contemporary Chandelier Exhibit. And naturally the barn itself, circa 1901, was an interesting piece of Vermont Americana.
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
