Worcester Art Museum, Worcester Massachusetts

The Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts is a tiny gem. It's not a terribly well known museum, though it is well-respected. The Worcester Art museum's collection includes items from eras and cultures ranging from the pre-historic to the twentieth century, from Pre-Columbian art, to Babylonian, Classical, Medieval and European traditions. The Worcester Art Museum Web page describes the museum's holdings as a 35,000-piece collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, drawings and new media that span 5,000 years of art and culture. The painters include European and American artists, like Cassatt, Gauguin, Goya, Monet, Sargent and Whistler. But mostly, it's the early works that interested me.

There are a number of objects from ancient Antioch (now part of Turkey), particularly mosaics from a villa in the resort area of Daphne in the hills above Antioch. Daphne, blessed with scenery and natural hot springs, was a resort town for wealthy Romans. One of my favorites is a mosaic showing a hunting scene from the early 6th century A.D. showing a wide variety of animals.

My other favorite item is the Benedictine Priory of Saint John. The stones of the twelfth century chapterhouse was removed from its site in west central France, and carefully reassembled again inside the museum. The chapterhouse functioned as meeting area for members of the monastic community. It features vaulted stone ceilings, and piers, and two large stone columns as support.

The Worcester Art Museum's Website is here.