New England’s museum collections span history, time, and even space. Within these cultural treasure chests you’ll find famous art and artifacts, but also under-the-radar gems you didn’t know you needed to see … until now.
24 Crowd Favorites and Hidden Gems in New England Museums
Vermont Museums
Shelburne Museum | Shelburne, VT
The Crowd-Pleaser: Board the 220-foot steamship Ticonderoga in its landlocked berth, and explore the four decks, pilothouse, and crew’s quarters. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the ship’s arrival at the Shelburne Museum—a feat of maritime preservation.
The Cool Surprise: Created as part of a 1960s national ad campaign to promote Vermont’s granite industry, Norman Rockwell’s The Craftsman sketch is one of three works by the legendary illustrator newly acquired by the Shelburne Museum from the Rock of Ages quarry. (The name “Norwell” engraved on the headstone is a playful self-reference.)
Bonus Pick: St. Johnsbury Athenaeum | St. Johnsbury, VT
The Crowd-Pleaser: Benefactor Horace Fairbanks added a room specifically for The Domes of the Yosemite oil painting, featuring it prominently in what today is the oldest unaltered gallery in the country. The giant 10×15-foot landscape depicts the grandeur of the Yosemite Valley and is based on artist Albert Bierstadt’s visits to the West Coast in the mid-1860s.
The Cool Surprise: Within the masterpiece of this building (a National Historic Landmark), look for the library’s two spiral staircases (no longer in use). The risers feature delicate scrollwork, and walnut balusters support a sheening banister curving to a second-floor balcony. It’s a good reminder that architecture is as much an art as the framed pieces that hang on the walls.
Massachusetts Museums
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | Boston, MA
The Crowd-Pleaser: Paul Revere himself made the celebrated Sons of Liberty Bowl in 1768 at his Boston workshop, likely by melting down old silver coins. The secret society of Revolutionaries who commissioned the bowl used it for serving rum punch at their meetings…