-The first photo, from 1938, shows a portion of the damage inflicted upon the Worcester Art Museum when a hurricane passed through the region. The roof was nearly destroyed and the surrounding area was ravaged. When it came time to discuss reconstruction, the administration decided that rather than repair the old roof, they would instead take the opportunity to add a fourth level on top of the 1897 building. It was a decision that still incites criticism today, over 75 years later. At far left in the 1938 photo, the chimney and side of the Director's House can be seen (in the area that is now the courtyard and upper Tuckerman parking lot). Four decades ago, the house was torn down and the surrounding ground leveled to make way for the Higgins Education Wing. At present, the view is further altered by the addition of the 1983 Hiatt Wing, which envelopes the whole east side of the original Museum building.
-A safer storm, a painted tempest, "The Shipwreck" by Robert Hubert, resides in the European Galleries in the second "Then and Now" composition… seen both in 2008 and after the most recent renovation of the space. Note the 18th Century chairs against the Gallery walls in the older photo.
-The sketch depicts the bound figure of Cupid (minus the tortoise) from the great mid-19th Century marble piece by Richard Greenough in Gallery 332.
-It was requested that I repost the portrait sketch I made of photographer Ron Rosenstock. So here is my work paired with Ron's 2010 photograph "Stone Circle at Sheeffry, County Mayo, Ireland."
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| Hurricane Damage. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| European Galleries. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Cupid Bound. Worcester Art Museum. by Travis Simpkins |
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| Ron Rosenstock by Travis Simpkins. Worcester Art Museum |
