Ten Things You Don’t Know About Worcester Art Museum

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Friday, March 02, 2012

Jen Roy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

At any given moment, the Worcester Art Museum can be bumbling with excitement. Whether local students are being trained as docents for public tours, or visitors are enjoying jazz music in the outdoor seating area, the museum is constantly transforming itself into a true community landmark.

As well-known as the Worcester Art Museum is by residents and art enthusiasts world-wide, there are a few interesting facts you might find as a surprise and a delight.

Here’s a list of things you might not know about the WAM:

1. First American Museum to purchase paintings by the great French impressionist Claude Monet.

2. The Worcester Art Museum is a pioneer in the art conservation field having published studies of paintings using X-radiographs and infrared photographs as early as 1935.

3. The Worcester Art Museum has had a Partnership with Elm Park Community School for over 25 years enabling its students to learn about social studies, language arts and art in the Museum’s galleries and studios.

Paul Revere Silver

4. The Worcester Art Museum has the second largest collection of Paul Revere silver in the world, thanks in part to a gift from the former Paul Revere Insurance Company.

5. The Worcester Art Museum has been offering courses in drawing and painting since 1898.

6. The Worcester Art Museum was the first American Museum to bring a medieval building from Europe to reconstruct in its galleries—in 1927.

7. The Worcester Art Museum has been exhibiting photography as an art form regularly since 1904; current photography show RON ROSENSTOCK is bringing in large crowds.

Thomas Smith Portrait

8. During FLORA in Winter at the Worcester Art Museum, some of the most popular arrangements are in the men’s and women’s bathrooms! Art can happen anywhere!

9. Children (17 and under) are always admitted free at the Worcester Art Museum.

10. The Worcester Art Museum is home to the earliest known self-portrait in America—a portrait of and by Thomas Smith (around 1680).

To experience the surprises - the Museum's hours are:

Wednesday-Friday, Sunday: 11am-5pm

Saturday: 10am-5pm

3rd Thursday of every month: 11am-8pm