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Currier Museum of Art, Manchester NH | |
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Manchester's 19th-century
wealth funded this gem of a New England art museum.
Modern supporters have made it a must-see when you're in Manchester NH.
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Manchester, New Hampshire's glory days were industrial, but the city's industry brought great wealth to its prominent citizens. Mr Moody Currier (1806-1898), a graduate of Dartmouth College, was first a school principal, later a bank president and governor of New Hampshire, and always a scholar and poet. He and his wife Hannah willed their property (map) and estate to their city to establish an art museum. The Currier Gallery of Art (as it was then called) opened in 1929. Throughout the years of the 20th century, the museum acquired ever more valuable works of art from New Hampshire, New England and around the world. In 1988, Isadore and Lucille Zimmerman bequeathed their house, which was a work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, to the Currier. And in 2008, vastly expanded and modernized, the Currier Museum of Art reopened to the public. The Currier's collections feature European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture, including works by Picasso, Monet, O'Keeffe, Wyeth, and LeWitt with exhibitions, tours, and programs year-round. The Henry Melville Fuller collection of glass paperweights is simply incredible: exquisite works of art in solid glass. Don't think glass paperweights can be exciting? Wait till you see these.
Also, don't miss the collection of paintings, furniture and other arts by New Hampshire artists of the last three centuries. The Garden Court, once the front yard of the original museum building, is now an enclosed space with tables and chairs, and a café for light meals, desserts, snacks and drinks (including wine and beer). Tours of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Zimmerman House are by reservation only. Contact the museum for details. Currier Museum of Art
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Currier Museum of Art, Manchester NH.
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