Prisoners Taken at Bennington Battle, Leroy Williams 1938 |
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August 2022
Bennington Museum Monthly
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The summer of 1777 saw Britain’s northern Army, under the command of General John Burgoyne, move with great force down the Champlain Valley. Bennington provided a convenient resupply location en route to Albany and a detachment of troops under Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum moved towards the town. Residents of Bennington sent out a call for help and a militia force under the command of General John Stark soon arrived from New Hampshire, joining with other troops from Massachusetts, and later Seth Warner and the Green Mountain Boys. The Battle of Bennington was staged on August 16, 1777 just across the modern Vermont-New York border, in Hoosick Falls (then SanCoick).
All told, Burgoyne had over 1,000 troops killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The British survivors were brought to Bennington where the meeting house served as a makeshift hospital and prison. For the Americans recovering from a year of set-backs and defeats, the Battle of Bennington proved that victory was possible and helped put the fight back in the revolutionary cause. It is regarded as the beginning of the turning point in the war.
It goes without saying that the month of August is big business in town as we prepare for Bennington Battle Day celebrations. Take a look at the festivity schedule HERE and make sure to leave room in your planning for a trip to the Battle Monument, the Battlefield, and, of course, the Museum (yes, we will be open on Tuesday, the 16th although it is a state holiday).
We hope to see you soon!
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Fridays & Sundays
11am to 3pm
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A Courtyard Cafe with delicious homecooked Indian cuisine.
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Enjoy a summer cocktail hour, learn about our successes of the past year and where we intend to go in the future.
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A free outdoor event. Join us for food, drink, and good company. Check facebook for weather cancellations.
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A free chamber concert by the summer resident young artists
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A pay-what-you-will program with Rebecca Roy, VT State Parks Interpretive Program Manager
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A free outdoor event. Join us for food, drink, and good company. Check facebook for weather cancellations.
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A free outdoor event. Join us for food, drink, and good company. Check facebook for weather cancellations.
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Celebrate the 25th year of the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show and the 3rd year at Bennington Museum!
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A free outdoor event. Join us for food, drink, and good company. Check facebook for weather cancellations.
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New Acquisitions of Important Historic Vermont Ceramics |
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Historic Vermont ceramics have been at the core of the Museum’s collections since we opened in 1928. Today the Museum’s collection of early Bennington ceramics is the largest and best of its type in the world. Still, there is always room for improvement, and we are thrilled to announce three recent additions of early Vermont pottery to our collection. |
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Just a few months ago the Museum purchased an elaborately decorated earthenware jar attributed to Edward William Farrar of Middlebury, Vermont, made around 1825-1830. This piece is one of a small group of the earliest and most sophisticated pieces of redware that can be definitively attributed to western Vermont. The jar features some interesting and unusual decorative techniques/motifs, including green slip (a colored glaze made from watered down clay and powdered metallic oxides), roulette designs (an impressed pattern applied with a tool similar to a rolling pie crimper), and distinctively formed handles and rim. Pots by Farrar rarely come on the market and when they do are often acquired by major public collections like the Art Institute of Chicago or Colonial Williamsburg. The funds were available for this purchase thanks to the recent deaccessioning of a group of glass given to the Museum in 1957 by Channing Hare. In the mid-1900s the Museum’s mission expanded beyond Bennington to include early American glass in general. Glass was a very fashionable thing to collect at the time, but was not relevant to the Bennington region. A few gifts of deaccessioned glass have been made to other institutions, but sending most of it to auction allows us to grow an acquisitions fund and make important additions to the museum's collection. |
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Redware Jar, ca. 1825-1830, Edward William Farrar, Museum Purchase, funds provided by exchange from the Channing Hare-Mountford Coolidge Collection
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In June we were pleased to add two significant pieces of salt-glazed stoneware made by the Norton family to the collection, gifts from Marie Miller.
The first is a unique flask with incised decoration made for or by Julius Norton in 1829, when he was still a young man. The flask is incised with an abstract decoration, his name, the year and some other words that don’t have obvious significance. This is not only a rare and unusual example of an inscribed object associated with one of the pottery's owners, but also a rare example of incised decoration and a form (flask) that was rarely marked or otherwise attributable to the Nortons. The donor acquired this piece at auction where the Museum’s curator at the time, Catherine Zusy, was also trying to buy it for the Museum. The Museum ended up being outbid, but the donor told her that she would bequeath the piece to the Museum. Luckily for us, she decided to make the gift early!
An even more remarkable piece given by Marie Miller is a true masterpiece of cobalt-decorated stoneware by the Nortons. This 4-gallon jug features the profile of a man smoking a pipe and is inscribed “John.” This jug is one of a very few Norton stoneware pieces decorated with a person, either a face or full body. It is an exceptional, one-of-a-kind example of folk art by the Norton pottery. We do not know who “John” is, but it is possible it could be a reference to John Norton, Jr., father of Edward Norton. This is easily the best example of decorated Norton stoneware to enter the museum’s collection in the last twenty years.
As of mid-August all three objects will be on view in the museum galleries, the Farrar jar in a case in the lobby and the two Norton pieces upstairs in the Bennington Pottery Gallery.
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4 Gallon jug marked “John,” 1850-1859, J & E Norton, Ovoid stoneware flask inscribed “Julius Norton,” 1829, Norton Pottery, Gifts of Marie Miller |
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New Team Members
We were excited welcome Ryan Senecal to our team this past month. Ryan is a development professional with over 10 years of experience at UMass Amherst and MCLA. He specializes in annual giving and data analytics. The Berkshire County native has his Bachelors in Business Management from UMass and obtained his MBA in ’20. In his spare time you may find him playing disc golf at the nearby Willow Park.
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Opportunities for Artists
North Country Studio Workshops offers intensive and high-level workshops for artists and craftspeople in an atmosphere of discovery, collaboration, and inspiration. They have just announced their new Young Artist Scholarship program. The scholarship covers full tuition, room and board for an artist between ages 18 and 35, working in any medium and is designed to provide an emerging artist with an intensive growth experience that will help launch a career in the arts. Applications are due August 31, 2022. The next workshops will be held at Bennington College, January 24-29, 2023. Details and application: https://ncsw.org/young-artist-scholarship
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Books for Your Collection
Want to know more about the Battle of Bennington in advance of the big day? Visit our Museum Store online or in-person and pick up "A Guide to The Battle of Bennington and The Bennington Monument" by local author and historian, Phil Holland. Already have that one? We have lots of other fun reads available too. Browse at your convenience!
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STAY CONNECTED
802-447-1571
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Bennington Museum engages and transforms our visitors and our community by connecting you to the region’s diverse arts, rich history, and culture of innovation.
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