DOI Heft:
The international Studio (August 1907)
DOI Artikel:Mechlin, Leila: The Worcester Art Museum
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28252#0394
J'Vorcester Art Museum
Worcester and has been upbuilt and sustained en-
tirely by residents of that city. Indeed it seems to
have been called forth by the need of the people and
to stand more truly as a monument to voluntary co-
operation and civic pride than almost any other
institution in our land.
Its beginning is especially interesting. On Feb-
ruary 26, 1896, the late Stephen Salisbury invited a
number of men and women to meet at his home to
discuss and arrange for the organization of an art
museum for the promotion of art and art education
in Worcester, and at that meeting the Museum cor-
poration was formed. Mr. Salisbury himself gave
at that time the site for the Museum and one hun-
dred thousand dollars, half of which was to go to-
ward the erection of a building and half toward its
maintenance. No time was lost. A building com-
mittee was appointed, other museums visited and
inspected, and before the following October a plan
had been determined upon and Stephen C. Earle
had been appointed architect. Realizing that the
success of the Museum was in the hands of the peo-
ple, the directors early, and with shrewd insight,
sought the active cooperation of the citizens of
Worcester. The building and its equipment as
planned would cost about one hundred Thousand
dollars and only half of this amount had been given.
An appeal was made by a special committee
through the press and subscriptions poured in.
Within two years forty thousand dollars were re-
ceived in subscriptions varying from five cents to
three thousand dollars in amount. The corner-
stone of the building was laid on June 24, 1897, and
the Museum was opened with a loan exhibition,
arranged through cooperation with the Worcester
Art Society, on May 10, 1898. Then began the
work of acquisition and again evidence was given
that the people of Worcester looked upon the Mu-
seum as a common possession and trust. Indi-
viduals and organizations seem to have vied with
one another in generosity, and the choice of gifts
was most judiciously made. The Museum’s collec-
tion of casts, which is especially notable, was almost
entirely acquired in this way. The bank clerks of
THE FAMILY OUTDOORS
BY GUSTAVE CIMIOTTI, JR.
XL
Worcester and has been upbuilt and sustained en-
tirely by residents of that city. Indeed it seems to
have been called forth by the need of the people and
to stand more truly as a monument to voluntary co-
operation and civic pride than almost any other
institution in our land.
Its beginning is especially interesting. On Feb-
ruary 26, 1896, the late Stephen Salisbury invited a
number of men and women to meet at his home to
discuss and arrange for the organization of an art
museum for the promotion of art and art education
in Worcester, and at that meeting the Museum cor-
poration was formed. Mr. Salisbury himself gave
at that time the site for the Museum and one hun-
dred thousand dollars, half of which was to go to-
ward the erection of a building and half toward its
maintenance. No time was lost. A building com-
mittee was appointed, other museums visited and
inspected, and before the following October a plan
had been determined upon and Stephen C. Earle
had been appointed architect. Realizing that the
success of the Museum was in the hands of the peo-
ple, the directors early, and with shrewd insight,
sought the active cooperation of the citizens of
Worcester. The building and its equipment as
planned would cost about one hundred Thousand
dollars and only half of this amount had been given.
An appeal was made by a special committee
through the press and subscriptions poured in.
Within two years forty thousand dollars were re-
ceived in subscriptions varying from five cents to
three thousand dollars in amount. The corner-
stone of the building was laid on June 24, 1897, and
the Museum was opened with a loan exhibition,
arranged through cooperation with the Worcester
Art Society, on May 10, 1898. Then began the
work of acquisition and again evidence was given
that the people of Worcester looked upon the Mu-
seum as a common possession and trust. Indi-
viduals and organizations seem to have vied with
one another in generosity, and the choice of gifts
was most judiciously made. The Museum’s collec-
tion of casts, which is especially notable, was almost
entirely acquired in this way. The bank clerks of
THE FAMILY OUTDOORS
BY GUSTAVE CIMIOTTI, JR.
XL