August Kretschmer and the Stoneware Decorators of Western New York

In the 19th century, New York state was home to many of the US’s most productive potteries, and the industry supported many local trades, playing a vital role in the regional economy. We have some records about the people who made these utilitarian stoneware products, b......More

In the 19th century, New York state was home to many of the US’s most productive potteries, and the industry supported many local trades, playing a vital role in the regional economy. We have some records about the people who made these utilitarian stoneware products, but less is known about those highly skilled craftsmen who decorated them, rendering animals, scenes of regional life and landscapes, and even sculpting three-dimensional flowers into the designs of these vessels.  After three years, Dr. John Sladek returns to Bennington Museum to deliver a new presentation, drawing on decades of collecting and researching  pottery in Rochester, Lyons and other cities in central New York. These  river towns, many with access to the Erie Canal, facilitated the transport of clay, finished goods, as well as the artisans themselves, and this thriving trade helped the towns become cities and develop into regional transport centers. Tickets are $7 for Bennington Museum Members, $10 for Not-Yet-Members and are available for purchase in advance below or at the door. When Dr. John Sladek (Professor Emeritus, Neurology, University of Colorado) moved to the Rochester area in 1973, he began collecting the striking stoneware that was so abundant at local flea markets and farm auctions. His observations of the design elements and signatures of the decorators led to research that identified artisans who traveled from pottery to pottery as valued artists. His personal collection of Rochester and Lyons stoneware pieces numbers well over 300 individual items and growing. 

Museum ABCs: Stitching the ABCs

Children long ago began learning to sew at the same age they learned their ABCs. Girls made needlework samplers to show off their sewing skills and their knowledge of the alphabet. We’ll see some of those samplers and use kid-safe tools to try stitching a few letters ou......More

Children long ago began learning to sew at the same age they learned their ABCs. Girls made needlework samplers to show off their sewing skills and their knowledge of the alphabet. We’ll see some of those samplers and use kid-safe tools to try stitching a few letters ourselves. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! presented in partnership with the Bennington Free Library Sponsored by The Bank of Bennington with additional support from Stewarts.

Fearless Monk

Called “an altogether extraordinary pianist” by Michael Redmond in the Newark Star Ledger, “the Downtown Keyboard Magus” in the New Yorker, and “a witty, genial and adventurous pianist and composer” in the New York Times, Jed Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzew......More

Called “an altogether extraordinary pianist” by Michael Redmond in the Newark Star Ledger, “the Downtown Keyboard Magus” in the New Yorker, and “a witty, genial and adventurous pianist and composer” in the New York Times, Jed Distler has premiered works by Frederic Rzewski, Lois V Vierk, Wendy Mae Chambers, Simeon ten Holt, Richard Rodney Bennett, Alvin Curran, William Schimmel, Virgil Thomson, Andrew Thomas and Virko Baley, among many others. Jed’s principal classical piano teachers were Stanley Lock and William Komaiko, although he considers Dick Hyman, Hank Jones and Bill Evans important mentors in his early years when he played jazz for a living. As a recitalist, Jed has given new music programs across the United States and Europe from Italian festivals in Ravello, Sorrento and Erculano to New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. The list of musicians, spoken word performers, visual artists and choreographers with whom Jed has collaborated is a veritable Who’s Who of the New York arts scene in late 20th-century New York. In the 1980s Jed worked closely with dance legend Jacques D’Amboise and played Beethoven with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and has performed with singers as diverse as Phyllis Bryn-Julson and KT Sullivan. In 2012 Jed launched a solo piano project encompassing jazz icon Thelonious Monk’s complete songs in a single concert, and has performed it in New York, Las Vegas, Berkeley, Italy and Germany, and now he brings it here to Bennington. Jed’s unique Monk interpretations can be found on a 2019 release from TNC Jazz called Fearless Monk. The 10th season of Music at the Museum is dedicated to Shirley Brodsky.Music at the Museum programs are presented at no charge, thanks to our generous sponsors, Alison Nowak and Robert Cane.

Pangaea Takeover

Ira Allen of Vermont

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire-builder, Ira Allen was a key figure on the late eighteenth-century Green Mountain frontier. Based on his new book Ira Allen: A Biography, J. Kevin Graffagnin......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation Land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire-builder, Ira Allen was a key figure on the late eighteenth-century Green Mountain frontier. Based on his new book Ira Allen: A Biography, J. Kevin Graffagnino’s lively talk evaluates Allen’s checkered career and makes the case for including him in our picture of Vermont’s formative decades. Kevin Graffagnino was born in Long Island, New York and raised in Montpelier. He graduated from the University of Vermont in 1976, then went on to complete his Master’s there in 1978. He holds a PhD from UMASS Amherst. He served as the Curator of Vermont History at UVM for nearly two decades and was the Executive Director of the Vermont Historical Society for 5 years. Graffagnino is the author/editor of numerous books about Vermont, including  Ira Allen: A Biography, published in 2024. supported by

A Monument Society Event: Schenectady

Join Bennington Museum’s Executive Director on a cultural fieldtrip to Schenectady, NY with a walking tour led by a seasoned guide with the Schenectady Historical Society. The tour will be about an hour and a half and will cover 1.5 miles beginning at the Historical Soc......More

Join Bennington Museum’s Executive Director on a cultural fieldtrip to Schenectady, NY with a walking tour led by a seasoned guide with the Schenectady Historical Society. The tour will be about an hour and a half and will cover 1.5 miles beginning at the Historical Society and ending at our dinner location in downtown.  This tour will take place rain or shine, and good walking shoes are a must. Arrive at 3pm at the Schenectady Historical Society. Dinner at the Nest at 5pm. A shuttle will depart Bennington Museum at 1:30pm and seating is limited to 14 total on a first come first serve basis! NOTE: THE SHUTTLE IS NOW FULL! More information to follow. RSVP below. RSVPJoin the Monument Society

Green Mountain Magic Reception

Image details top to bottom and left to right: Ivan Albright (1897-1983), The Vermonter (If Life Were Life There Would Be No Death) (detail), 1966-77, oil on Masonite, 34 1/4 × 26 1/2 inches. Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Josephine Patterson Albright, Class of ......More

Image details top to bottom and left to right: Ivan Albright (1897-1983), The Vermonter (If Life Were Life There Would Be No Death) (detail), 1966-77, oil on Masonite, 34 1/4 × 26 1/2 inches. Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Josephine Patterson Albright, Class of 1978HW P.985.31. © Ivan Albright Lloyd and Barbara Wescott (detail) (1942), Paul Cadmus (1904 – 1999).Tempera on gessoed board, 21 3/4 × 35 in. (55.2 × 88.9 cm)Art Bridges George Tooker (1920-2011)Sleepers, (detail) 1963. Egg tempera on gessoed panel, 16 1/4 × 19 1/4 inches, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth:Bequest of Louise W. Schmidt, P.996.14.2 © Estate of George Tooker.Courtesy DC Moore Gallery, N.Y.

Concerts in the Courtyard: Duologues Plus

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2025. Performances are free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. The Museum will stay open until 7pm on these days, regular admission applies......More

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2025. Performances are free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. The Museum will stay open until 7pm on these days, regular admission applies. Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! Sage Pizza will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates serving delicious pie. The Museum will provide beverages. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates. Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum. Duologues PlusMegan & Matt honed their musical collaborations on family holiday mix tapes & gigs in Boston, NYC and Canada, and have taken their music together as far as the Shanghai Jazz Festival. Megan is a seasoned veteran of the musical theatre & cabaret scenes, while Matt is a music educator and performer under the moniker Matty Stecks. This evening promises a fresh look at songs from the popular music canons, peppered with originals. The five-piece “Plus” unit is a full rockin’-rendition of this cherished act, featuring the finest musicians in the region.

Sassy Sampler Night

This isn’t your grandma’s needlework! Break up the week with a gathering at Bennington Museum where we’ll check out Samplers, Girls, and the American Experiment, then head to the Moses Schoolhouse to work on some less-than-traditional samplers provided by Subversive Cr......More

This isn’t your grandma’s needlework! Break up the week with a gathering at Bennington Museum where we’ll check out Samplers, Girls, and the American Experiment, then head to the Moses Schoolhouse to work on some less-than-traditional samplers provided by Subversive Cross Stitch. We’ll bring the snacks and wine. You bring the attitude. (21 and over only) Tickets are $40 for Bennington Museum Members and $50 for Not-Yet-Members and are available for purchase below.Limited to 12 participants.Registration Deadline: May 30, 2025 sponsored in part by

Concerts in the Courtyard: Danny & The Parts

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2025. Performances are free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. The Museum will remain open until 7pm on these days, regular admission appli......More

CONCERTS IN THE COURTYARDWe are pleased to announce that Bennington Museum has received an anonymous grant once more for 2025. Performances are free of charge. All events take place from 5-7pm. The Museum will remain open until 7pm on these days, regular admission applies. Please bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! Sage Pizza will set up shop in front of the Museum’s gates serving delicious pie. The Museum will serve beverages. In the event of rain, the event will be cancelled by 2pm on Fridays. Check our facebook page for updates. Museum educators will provide free children’s activities during Concerts in the Courtyard. Kids of all ages will find a fun makerspace at the picnic tables where they can create art based on art and objects featured in the Museum. Danny & The PartsDanny & The Parts are native to the Burlington Vermont area. Taking from local talent, Danny & The Parts holds down an original Honky-Tonk rhythm and feel, reminiscent of Americana at its best. Sweeping vocal and and harmonic melodies twangy tele-caster guitar magic create wildly new atmospheric sound.

Museum ABCs: Flying Flags

June 14th is Flag Day! Get to know the red, white, and blue of the American flag. It’s full of symbols that tell the story of our country. What would the flag of YOU look like? We’ll work with you to create your own amazing flag to fly. Museum ABCs is a collaboration be......More

June 14th is Flag Day! Get to know the red, white, and blue of the American flag. It’s full of symbols that tell the story of our country. What would the flag of YOU look like? We’ll work with you to create your own amazing flag to fly. Museum ABCs is a collaboration between Bennington Museum and the Bennington Free Library, designed for children ages 3 to 5 and their adult companions. Siblings are welcome! Museum ABCs is FREE thanks to funding from The Bank of Bennington. Join us on the second Saturday of each month, April through November, for artwork, stories, and more! presented in partnership with the Bennington Free Library Sponsored by The Bank of Bennington with additional support from Stewarts.

A Monument Society Event: Across the Street

Have you ever walked through the “Four Corners” area of Bennington and wondered what the buildings around you looked like in the past? Across the Street: Historic Bennington consists of historic photographs of buildings placed across the street from their modern day cou......More

Have you ever walked through the “Four Corners” area of Bennington and wondered what the buildings around you looked like in the past? Across the Street: Historic Bennington consists of historic photographs of buildings placed across the street from their modern day counterparts. This exhibit has been in place for a few years, so you may have checked out these sites before, but in June of 2025, the Museum is installing pictures and information about 25 new historic points of interest.  On Saturday June 14, we invite you to join Bennington Museum curator, Jamie Franklin, and Executive Director, Martin Mahoney for a 90 minute guided walking tour of these new highlights.  This tour will be followed by dinner at the Four Chimney’s- right up the road! We will gather at an apartment in the Putnam Building at 2:45pm for some light refreshments before the start of the tour.Dinner at 5pm at the Four Chimneys. RSVP below. RSVPJoin the Monument Society

Sampler Stories

a Bennington Historical Society presentation What can needlework samplers made by schoolgirls tell us about our Revolutionary War ancestors and their descendants? More than you might expect! The Vermont Sampler Initiative has collected and documented almost 800 samplers......More

a Bennington Historical Society presentation What can needlework samplers made by schoolgirls tell us about our Revolutionary War ancestors and their descendants? More than you might expect! The Vermont Sampler Initiative has collected and documented almost 800 samplers in Vermont over the past 2 ½ years, starting with its first Sampler ID Day at Bennington Museum in November 2022. Michele Pagán, textile conservator and one of the managers of the project, will share some of the stories uncovered with the help of these samplers. Bennington Museum will be one of the main stops on a Sampler Driving Tour being developed in coordination with the statewide 250th commemoration of the Revolutionary War. Michele Pagán is a recently-returned native Vermonter, who spent her childhood in Bennington. She is a graduate of the University of Vermont and University of Connecticut, where she studied clothing & textiles. She credits her early experience visiting Bennington Museum with opening new doors to her, allowing her to envision a unique career trajectory.Bennington Museum recently published her research entitled Geography and Technological Change in Vermont: The Transition from Homespun Flax To Machine-Made Cotton Textiles. Today she is a textile conservator in private practice who likes to say that she is “Saving history one piece of fabric at a time.” supported by