Bennington Museum

Bennington Museum is at 75 Main St., 1 mi. w. of jct. SRs 7 and 9 in The Shires of Vermont. The museum houses a collection reflective of the region's art, history and innovation. Home to what is said to be the largest public collection of paintings by Anna Mary Robertson "Grandma" Moses, the museum's Grandma Moses Gallery displays her paintings and belongings as well as photographs and family memorabilia. The gallery is adjacent to the Grandma Moses Schoolhouse, a family and children's activity center where visitors can barter in a country store and learn what it was like to attend school in the 19th century. Permanent exhibits include the Bennington Flag, one of the oldest Stars and Stripes flags in existence; firearms; and American paintings and sculpture from the 18th and 19th centuries. The story of the Battle of Bennington is told in the museum’s Military Gallery, and the Bennington Pottery Gallery showcases a renowned collection of 19th-century ceramics produced by local companies. The Early Vermont Gallery presents life in Vermont from the time when the earliest European settlers arrived in 1761 with only the bare necessities to the early 1800s when Vermont craftsmen achieved a level of sophistication rivaling Boston and New York. (1760s to early-1800s). Explored through stories and vignettes, this gallery showcases over 85 major pieces and smaller items from the Museum’s extensive historical collection of over 30,000 objects. The Bennington Modernism Gallery includes works by avant-garde artists working in Bennington from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s. As the gallery changes, it may feature works by such artists as Pat Adams, Paul Freeley, Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland and David Smith. The Gilded Age Vermont Gallery highlights industrial and cultural innovations in the region through objects either made or owned in Bennington or created by artists with connections to the area. Exhibits include paintings by William Morris Hunt and Frederick MacMonnies; glass and metal works by Louis Comfort Tiffany; and the Martin Wasp, a 1920s luxury automobile made in Bennington by Karl Martin. The Works on Paper Gallery features drawings, prints, paintings and photographs by contemporary and historic artists. Changing exhibits are available year-round. A genealogy research library and the Hadwen Woods and George Aiken Wildflower Trail also are on the grounds. Cellphone audio tours are available. Time: Allow 1 hour minimum.