-The first photo, from 1920, shows the view from the recently opened lower third floor galleries looking north towards the front of the Worcester Art Museum. The Renaissance Court addition had not been built yet, so light from one of the original 1897 windows can been seen at center. Flanking the doorway, are two 16th Century Italian terra-cotta figures… "Saint Anthony, Abbot" and "An Apostle or Saint." Perhaps with this paired aesthetic in mind, the two quasi-unrelated pieces still flank an entryway (so to speak), placed on the Renaissance Court balcony on either side of the 3 openings to the connecting corridor. Today, the view from the same spot in the American Galleries is blocked by the center partition wall.
-In last week's post, I mentioned how the century-old table in the Library was surrounded by spindle back Windsor chairs prior to being reunited with it's original leather-upholstered set. I received a few inquiries, so here in the second "Then and Now" composition, are the aforementioned chairs at left. There are still some remaining around the smaller table today, the rest are stored away. Also, this past Saturday, I spoke with Director Emeritus Jim Welu about the table. He said that although it looks good now, it was not always held in such high regard. Years ago, Jim found the table in rough shape, scratched and gouged… having been used to cut mattes in the Education Wing. It was then refurbished.
-The two sketches depict "Saint Anthony, Abbot" and "An Apostle or Saint" side-by-side with books in hand, as they have always been at WAM.
-The Knights! Construction sequence (part 4 of 5) was documented over a period of nearly 4 months (15 weeks), from a point of view inside what would become the "Helmutt's House" children's area.
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| 3rd Floor Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Library. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Saint Anthony and an Apostle. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Knights! Construction. Worcester Art Museum |
