Galleries

Pop Goes the Book!

Favorites from the Elaine Schofield Collection

Thompson Gallery

March 15 – June 9

Discover the art, history and mechanics of pop-up books in an engaging exhibit featuring an amazing array of page-turners that move, fold and pop!  Try your hand at creating pop-ups and step into character in a giant interactive pop-up book.

Wenham Museum is grateful to Leslie S. Ray Insurance Company for their generous sponsorship of this exhibit.

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Wisdom from the Woods: Native American Animal Stories Exhibit

Family Discovery Gallery

March 5 - May 31

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Crowning Glory! Hats for All Seasons

West Gallery

For a long time one always wore a hat -- whatever the occasion -- a hat for working, a hat for playing, even a hat for sleeping.  Join us as we celebrate the hat with a dazzling array of headgear from our own collection. As the season change, we will be following suit with the hats on display, moving from delicate spring florals and pale felt fedoras to big bright flowers and hates to keep the summer rays away. Enjoy a century of fashion from modest bonnets to the iconic 1920s cloche to glamorous profile hats on display from spring, to summer and into the fall.

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Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle by Mary Newell DePalma

Museum Lobby

May 1 – August 25

Follow a red bouncing ball through a whimsical story of a boy and his dog who discover their love for each other during a game of fetch. Children of all ages will enjoy this display of original watercolor illustrations created by children’s’ author and illustrator Mary Newell DePalma for her latest book, Bow-Wow Wiggle-Waggle. 

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Wheels: Getting from Here to There

June 27 – September 22

Thompson Gallery

Come explore the wonderful world of wheels!

From chariots to race cars and pull-toys to wind-ups, this interactive exhibit will give you an opportunity to see vintage and antique toys, photos, a real antique hand-pumped fire engine, and a velocipede! “What’s a velocipede?” you may ask – well, find out at the Wenham Museum! Design your own car of the future that can be a part of the exhibit, climb into a kid-sized race car, and build and race your own LEGO car right in the gallery!

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Le Pavillon de la Lanterne: An Exquisite European Dollhouse

Egbert Gallery

June 22, 2012-June 2013

Free with museum admission

Escape into the dreamlike world of European life in miniature through the works of two master artists in their creation of one spectacular dollhouse.

Over 15 years, Jean and Marguerite van der Does built and decorated an exquisitely detailed fine-scale dollhouse in loving memory of their youngest daughter.  They fashioned the exterior of the house in 17th-century architectural design inspired by the hunting lodge of The Palace of Versailles, called Le Pavillon de la Lanterne as a tribute to their daughter’s passion for the arts.

Both parents were accomplished artists and used their talents to thoughtfully fill the lodge with objets d’art that their daughter had grown to treasure throughout her life. Together, they handcrafted the dollhouse and most of its furnishings, in many instances using wood from the family’s country property. Each of the seven rooms represents a specific country or period, and are decorated with furniture, small-scale reproductions of masterpiece paintings, parquet floors, needlepoint rugs, chandeliers, statues, dinnerware and tea sets also created by the artists. Some of the vignettes and decorative pieces are miniature reproductions of rooms and accessories from the family’s country house. With such attention to detail, even the coat of arms adorning each window is engraved with their daughter’s initials. Dollhouse, toy and miniature fans of all ages won’t want to miss this rare opportunity to visit such a magnificent dollhouse in its premiere exhibit at the Wenham Museum.

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