The Worcester Art Museum’s access magazine is an opportunity for our close community of supporters to dive deeper into what we do. As a Member, you receive this not only as a thank you for your support, but as an invitation to continue to get excited about art.
Sign on for another year of exciting art experiences while supporting the power of creativity to connect.
There’s always room to come closer to art, artists, and the ideas they spark.
Spread the curiosity! Give the gift of year-round fun and lifelong memories with a gift membership.
Contribute to our mission at any time. Right now, we are undergoing an ambitious transformation in facilities, programming, and sustainability. Join us as we take the Museum on A Bold Step Forward with our most comprehensive campaign ever. Learn more at worcesterart.org/bold-step-forward.
Contact the membership department at membership@worcesterart.org or 508-793-4300
From the Director
En garde! If you have ever watched a movie or read a book with a sword-fight scene, you know this statement is a call to attention. And I hope I have your attention, because we have so much to celebrate—now and in the near future.
Swords and other such items are top of mind as we look forward to the opening of the Arms and Armor Galleries in late 2025. Construction is underway on this 5,000-square-foot space, and we will continue to reveal previews and progress milestones in the leadup to the launch. In all, more than 1,000 objects—from medieval and Renaissance Europe to ancient Greece, Egypt, Japan, India, and beyond—will showcase the remarkable range of this collection and the global reach of arms and armor. Just as exciting will be the innovative “open storage” system in the galleries, which will allow for almost the entire collection to be on view. We are excited to share more, including the opening date, with you soon.
More immediately, I hope you will visit the new exhibitions, galleries, and installations now on view. Im/Perfect Modernisms: Asian Art and Identity Since 1945 features thought-provoking art from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and Japan that may challenge how you think about Asian and modern art. And opened just last month, Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate breaks preconceptions about age, race, gender, and sexuality in the age-old genre of the nude.
We have a new, large-scale Wall at WAM work in the Museum’s Renaissance Court by Massachusetts artist Crystalle Lacouture. And just off the Renaissance Court, on the ground floor, you can now visit two reimagined galleries: the gallery of Chinese art and the gallery of West, South, and Southeast Asian art. The latter includes a number of works that have never been on view and a rotation of rarely seen works on paper.
Worcester Art Museum Board of Trustees 2024–2025
Kent Russell - President
George W. Tetler III - Vice President
Karen M. Keane - Treasurer
Mary Beth Leonard - Clerk
Susan M. Bassick
Sarah G. Berry
James C. Donnelly, Jr.
Michael B. Fox
Jennifer C. Glowik-Adams
Michael R. Hale
John J. Herron
David A. Jordan
Barry M. Maloney
Sohail Masood
John H. McCabe
Thomas S. Michie
A. Mitra Morgan
Carl D. Rapp
Malcolm A. Rogers
Anne-Marie Soullière
Cynthia L. Strauss
Carmen D. Vazquez
Christina Villena
Ex Officio — Matthias Waschek, Jean and Myles McDonough Director
The refresh of these galleries is part of our ongoing investments in the Worcester Art Museum’s campus: our $125 million A Bold Step Forward campaign. If you have visited the Museum in the last six months, you likely noticed some of these improvements—and have seen us at work on others, as we close certain galleries periodically for construction. But while some of these changes are visible to the public, many others are essential behind-the-scenes upgrades to our infrastructure and facilities that make the work we do for our audiences possible.
To date, we have raised more than $82 million towards our goal and are incredibly grateful for the support from our community of donors. We have just learned of a new $15 million challenge grant—the largest in our history—for campus improvements and endowment. You will be hearing more about this and we hope you will help us with this effort. If you are interested in contributing, please visit worcesterart.org/bold-step-forward. We welcome your support as we enter this new era for the Museum together!
With appreciation and excitement,
Matthias Waschek
Jean and Myles McDonough Director
What’s on
This season, there are many reasons to visit, and even more to return! Here are some of the highlights. Visit worcesterart.org to view our full calendar and learn more.
Find a new favorite artist or artwork with free public tours, offered every weekend. Come closer to the art and learn through interactive demonstrations, art carts, and more
Through March 9, 2025
EXHIBITION
Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate
Page 10–11
February 14, 2025
After Hours: Valentine’s Date Night
Studio art classes
Discover a new skill or refine your specialty in studio art classes for adults and kids. Members receive 10% off.
As a Member, you receive free Museum admission year-round as well as advance, free, or discounted tickets to events.
February 27–March 2, 2025
EVENT
Flora in Winter 2025
February 27: Salisbury Giving Society reception
Opening late 2025
EXHIBITION
Arms and Armor Galleries
March 29–June 29, 2025
EXHIBITION
Reflections of a Changing Japan: The Evolution of Shin Hanga
Ongoing ARTWORK
Crystalle Lacouture: Correspondence (for Elizabeth Bishop)
Higgins Education Wing exhibitions
There’s always something special down the hall! Explore exhibitions from students of all ages, community partners, and members of the public in the education wing.
May 18, 2025 EVENT
Amelia and Robert H. Haley Memorial Lecture: Japanese Printmakers in New England (1900–1960)
Ongoing CONSERVATION IN ACTION
Arms and Armor with Bill MacMillan
For teens
Do you know a teenager interested in art and museums? Learn about internships and the WAM Teen Council at worcesterart.org/teen-programs.
Modern Indian art from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection
By Yagnaseni Datta, Sohail and Mona Masood Assistant Curator of Asian and Islamic Art
In 2002, the Worcester Art Museum acquired more than 150 works by modern and contemporary Indian artists. These pieces, reflecting the artistic spirit of a nation emerging from the shadows of colonization, included works by Maqbool Fida Husain, Biren De, Somnath Hore, and G.R. Santosh. The collection, gathered from the 1960s onwards, was amassed by Chester and Davida Herwitz, Worcester residents who began collecting Indian art during their travels to India to buy Madras cloth for their leather factory in Worcester. Their interest was sparked by Husain's works, which they began collecting enthusiastically.
In 1974, fueled by the Herwitz family’s passion and supported by Harry N. Abrams, one of the country’s most prominent art book publishers, four American collections converged to bring Husain’s art to the Worcester Art Museum. The exhibition, Paintings by Husain, ran from November 15 to December 15, 1974. This was not just an exhibition; it was a revelation. As Richard Stuart Teitz, the Museum’s then-director, wrote to the Abrams family, “Husain’s work has drawn a large and interested audience to the Museum not only from Worcester but from much of New England.” This landmark event took place years before the Museum had a curator for Asian art, a role that wasn’t created until 1984, almost nine decades after the Museum first opened its doors.
Im/Perfect Modernisms: Asian Art and Identity Since 1945 is on view October 5, 2024–January 20, 2025. Learn more at worcesterart.org/exhibitions.
Husain, with his visionary spirit, introduced the Herwitz family to other giants of Indian art, and their collection soon became a vibrant tapestry of contemporary Indian creativity. By 1992, the Worcester Art Museum had already received 24 works by Husain. After Chester Herwitz's untimely passing in 1999, the family’s collection was divided between the Worcester Art Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA.
This year, the Worcester Art Museum is thrilled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our trailblazing 1974 Husain exhibition by proudly reexhibiting works from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection. This momentous occasion reaffirms our deep commitment to honoring and showcasing this extraordinary collection of modern Indian art. On view through January 20, 2025, visitors have the rare opportunity to experience six of these remarkable works among many others in Im/Perfect Modernisms: Asian Art and Identity Since 1945. This exhibition is a testament to our dedication to preserving and sharing the cultural treasures that have shaped the artistic landscape of India.
Im/Perfect Modernisms: Asian Art and Identity Since 1945 is generously supported by the Fletcher Foundation. It is also funded in part by the Maria and John Dirlam Fund and the Hall and Kate Peterson Fund. Related exhibition programming is supported by the Burrow Movie Fund and Spear Fund for Public Programs.
Sponsored by:
Right: G. R. Santosh, Untitled, 1978, oil on canvasboard, Gift from the Chester and Davida Herwitz Collection, 2002.501
Gallery view of Im/Perfect Modernisms: Asian Art and Identity Since 1945
Setting the scene for Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate
By Claire Whitner, Director of Curatorial Affairs and James A. Welu Curator of European Art
Although the nude—the naked human body as an art subject— is central to European painting, bare bodies can be hard to find in New England collections. The Worcester Art Museum, however, has a significant collection of nudes from classical antiquity through the 20th century. This makes our museum an ideal venue for Tate’s traveling exhibition, Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate, on view from November 23, 2024, to March 9, 2025, which explores how the century’s artists recast this traditional subject in Western art to explore form and challenge preconceptions about age, race, gender, and sexuality. Tate holds the United Kingdom’s national collections of British art after 1500 and international modern and contemporary art after 1900. Through the Worcester Art Museum’s collection, you can explore the art historical precedent to this special exhibition.
Gallery 206, for example—home to European paintings from the mid-16th to the early 17th centuries—offers an immersive encounter with the nude in late-Renaissance and mannerist art. Beginning in the 15th century, artists looked to classical antiquity for inspiration. On the long axis of this gallery, Paolo Veronese’s grand-scale Venus Disarming Cupid (1550–1555), anchors the wall. Veronese often painted Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty and love. His Venus presents an idealized female form in the model of classical sculpture. Her features— a high forehead and blond hair—demonstrate physical attributes prized in Renaissance-era women.
Equally monumental, Paris and Oenone (1616) by Dutch mannerist Cornelis van Haarlem, comprises two life-size nudes. A central figure in the Trojan War, Paris carves into a tree to show his love for Oenone. His muscular physique and her softer curves have a plastic quality, likely because Van Haarlem based his figures on classical sculptures. His studio contained an extensive plaster cast collection made from Greco-Roman statuary. Additionally, he consulted sketches of ancient sculptures by Netherlandish artist Maerten van Heemskerck, who had spent time in Rome.
Across from Paris and Oenone hangs Woman at her Toilette (1550–1570), a rare nude portrait painted while the French court was in Fontainebleau Forest, southeast of Paris. In the 16th century, King Francis I brought artists from Italy to decorate his chateau there. Where nudes had rarely appeared in earlier French art, they proliferated at Fontainebleau. In the portrait, the mirror and roses associate the sitter with Venus. Historically, she was identified as Diane de Poitiers, King Henry II’s royal mistress, or Mary Stuart, who resided in France from 1548 until 1560, though neither has been confirmed.
There are more nudes to be found throughout the Museum, and we invite you to explore how depictions of the body change over the centuries. Be sure to see two paintings of the Penitent Magdalene by Orazio Gentileschi and Hendrick Goltzius on loan in our baroque gallery (Gallery 201) and the life-size sculpture Shipwrecked Mother and Child (1848–1851) by American Edward Augustus Brackett in Gallery 207, which includes Nicolas Brenet’s sensual Sleeping Endymion (1756). Lastly, do not miss our own 20th-century nudes: Paula Modersohn-Becker’s Three Boys Bathing by a Canal (1901), Marguerite Zorach’s Nude (1922), and Otto Dix’s The Pregnant Woman (1931). While Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate is open, we will have Tom Wesselmann’s Great American Nude #36 (1962) in Gallery 321.
Organized in collaboration with Tate. This exhibition is generously supported by the Fletcher Foundation. It is also funded in part by the Ruth and John Adam, Jr. Exhibition Fund, Richard A. Heald Curatorial Fund, Christian A. Johnson Exhibition Fund, Michie Family Curatorial Fund, and WAM Exhibition Fund. Related exhibition programming is supported by the Schwartz Charitable Foundation, Bernard G. and Louise B. Palitz Fund, and Spear Fund for Public Programs.
Twentieth-Century Nudes from Tate is on view November 23, 2024–March 9, 2025. Learn more at worcesterart.org/exhibitions.
Media partner:
Gallery view of Paolo Veronese, Venus Disarming Cupid, 1550–1555, oil on canvas, Gift of Hester Diamond, 2013.50
Reexamined and redesigned: the Arts of West, South, and Southeast Asia Gallery
By Yagnaseni Datta, Sohail and Mona Masood Assistant Curator of Asian and Islamic Art
When I joined the Worcester Art Museum in September 2023 as the Sohail and Mona Masood Assistant Curator of Asian and Islamic Art, I was tasked with leading the transformation of the gallery for West, South, and Southeast Asian art. The enthusiasm and collaboration from everyone involved made it a profoundly fulfilling project, and every team member at the Museum was fully invested in breathing new life into this space.
The Worcester Art Museum has a long-standing tradition of bold acquisitions and exhibitions, always willing to explore new paths. As a curator, I found this environment especially invigorating. It allowed for critical reflection on curatorial practices, an openness to our limitations in didactics, and the creation of a space where visitors are encouraged to explore with curiosity.
The refreshed gallery has been reorganized into four geopolitical zones, moving chronologically through history. The first zone introduces the sculptural arts of Buddhism and Hinduism in South Asia, highlighting their synergies. The second explores the spread of these religions into Southeast Asia, where Khmer art prompts the Museum’s ongoing discussions on history of ownership and collecting. The third section focuses on Islamic art from West and South Asia, with newly displayed manuscript paintings. Soon, a monumental tile from Iran’s Qajar dynasty (1880–85), acquired in 2024 with the generous support of Mahroo Morgan in memory of her late husband Barry, will join this section, connecting manuscript painting traditions with murals and pottery. The final zone is a rotating exhibition space, currently showcasing objects that highlight early-modern cosmopolitanism. This allows the gallery to remain dynamic and responsive to new ideas.
To complement the artwork, each section is accompanied by focused labels, providing deeper interpretation and context. Visitors can also explore supplementary materials, such as hands-on objects and reference images, designed to enrich their experience and promote independent exploration.
The most exciting part of this project for me has been the ongoing learning and unlearning process. This gallery transformation is just the beginning of a continued dialogue that connects the past with the present and invites everyone to engage with the world of art in a meaningful way.
Watch:
Tour the redesigned Arts of West, South, and Southeast Asia Gallery with Yagnaseni Datta as she introduces the space and shares one of her favorite objects now on view.
The Arts of West, South, and Southeast Asia Gallery is supported in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
Arts of West, South, and Southeast Asia Gallery
Muhammad Isfahani and Workshop, The Safavid Emperor Shah ‘Abbas I Receiving the Ashtarkhanid Leader Vali Muhammad Khan of Bukhara, 1880–1885, Iran, Tehran, Qajar Dynasty (1794–1925), ceramic, Museum purchase with funds from the Eliza S. Paine Fund in memory of William R. Paine and Frances T. C. Paine, the Sarah C. Garver Fund, the Harriet B. Bancroft Fund and through support from Barrett* and Mahroo Morgan, 2024.18
A transformation on the Wall at WAM
Crystalle Lacouture utilizes the powerful symbolism of pattern and color to create sensitive, mystical art imbued with deep personal meaning. This fall, she brought this sensibility to the grand scale of the Worcester Art Museum’s Renaissance Court, enlivening the space with a vibrant, abstract design that maintains a specific connection to its site while inviting multifaceted interpretations.
When invited to create a new work for the decades-long Wall at WAM initiative, Lacouture investigated the Museum, its collections, and its city, and let her discoveries fuel her creativity. Lacouture was first inspired by the art on view in the Museum’s galleries. She was drawn especially to details of patterns in art spanning centuries and continents, such as 12th-century carved stone archways and 16th-century painted textile fringes. Several of these inspirations are incorporated into Correspondence (for Elizabeth Bishop), putting her work in conversation with the other art in the Museum as a tribute to art’s correspondence across time and cultures. As referenced in the title, her work is a further homage to the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979), who was born and buried in Worcester. Lacouture’s repeated spiral form is a graphical representation of a sestina, a complex poetry form consisting of six, six-line stanzas used by Bishop in a poem of
the same name (“Sestina,” 1956), while the binary code around the border represents quotes from two other poems that allude to Bishop’s Worcester connections.
Positioned in the central gathering space of an institution whose mission is to connect people, communities, and cultures through the experience of art, Lacouture’s work is a testament to the potential of art to transcend space and time.
This project was organized by Samantha Cataldo, Curator of Contemporary Art, with Delaney Keenan, Curatorial Assistant. Contemporary art installations in common spaces at WAM are supported by the Fletcher Foundation, Larry and Marla Curtis, Don and Mary Melville Contemporary Art Fund, John M. Nelson Fund, and Marlene and David Persky.
Watch:
Explore Crystalle Lacouture's studio and dive deeper into the poetic and artistic inspirations behind her work.
What’s new in the conservation lab?
Matthew Cushman recently joined the Worcester Art Museum as the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Conservator in Charge. We caught up with Matt to learn more about his team’s fascinating work and what is in store for the coming year.
You joined the Worcester Art Museum in 2023 as the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Conservator in Charge. What can you tell our Members about your time at the Museum so far?
This is actually my third time being at the Worcester Art Museum. I was here as a graduate intern in conservation and then later as a postgraduate Mellon Fellow in paintings conservation. It's exciting to be back at this moment because the Museum is in a period of growth. We have a really successful capital campaign going on, and it's an important moment for the conservation team because it allows us to decide how we want to adapt the department as the Museum and our aspirations grow.
What makes WAM’s conservation team unique?
The Worcester Art Museum is a special place for conservation. We've had a department since the 1930s, mainly starting with paintings conservation and over time adding specialists in threedimensional objects, works on paper, and now, with the integration of the Higgins Armory Collection, arms and armor. Our department is involved in the conservation, documentation, and examination of works of art in the collection, but we're also involved in integrated activities that bring different departments together, such as working with curators on new acquisitions or researching materials and techniques to understand how to interpret objects and care for them long term.
The conservation team is seeing some big changes in the coming year. What can you tell us about what’s coming next?
We're focused on a couple of areas. One is preparing for the Arms and Armor Galleries to open in late 2025. We are also getting ready for a big move while skylights get repaired and replaced and improved fire suppression gets added to the Fuller Conservation Lab. While we vacate the lab over the next year or so, you'll see a number of treatments that are happening on public view.
Are there any upcoming projects that you are especially excited to share?
One treatment that will be on public view is going to be our work on Joan Mitchell's Blue Tree (1964), one of the best examples of Abstract Expressionist paintings that we have in the collection. This treatment is made possible by a grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, in celebration of the artist's 2025 centennial. Over the years there have been some stabilization treatments, and we have found that it's quite a delicate painting and a complex
surface for us to work with. There's very high impasto, a prickly surface that we'll have to contend with, and very subtle differences in surface sheen and surface gloss. We'll be starting this work early next year, so keep an eye out for us in the galleries, hopefully working on something that catches your interest!
Watch:
Hear more from Matt Cushman in the full video interview, including a new behind-the-scenes look at conservation in action.
Matthew Cushman, George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Conservator in Charge
Our campus transformation is underway!
The Worcester Art Museum has begun the next major step in its evolution. Extensive renovations, upgrades, and repairs are underway to transform our historic campus. The scope of the work is immense, and through careful sequencing of projects, the Museum will remain open.
The projects listed here are some of the highlights. There are more than 130 individual capital projects, all supported by our landmark fundraising campaign, A Bold Step Forward. Envision our future with us and learn how you can get involved at worcesterart.org/bold-step-forward.
Thank you to our generous supporters who make this work possible. Learn more and view a full list of contributors at worcesterart.org/campus-transformation.
Completed:
LANCASTER PLAZA, 2021
Providing welcoming access for all visitors
The new Lancaster Street entrance includes an elegant new staircase, revitalized landscape, and new elevator that provides access to all floors of the Higgins Education Wing.
LIBRARY RELOCATION AND MODERNIZATION, 2023
Transforming an art research library
The new library better accommodates visitors, improves both storage and access to library collections, and makes it possible to host a wider array of programs through modular design and new technology.
EDUCATION WING REFRESH, 2023
Creating a greener Worcester Art Museum
The Higgins Education Wing received numerous upgrades to sustainability and safety, including new windows and skylights that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
ROOF REPLACEMENTS AND MASONRY REPAIRS, 2024
Preserving a historic building
Restored masonry on the original 1898 building and new roofs over the 1930s addition ensure the Museum’s historic campus will be enjoyed for generations to come.
COLLECTION STORAGE UPGRADES, 2024
Caring for nearly 40,000 artworks
Behind the scenes, spaces for artwork storage have been upgraded. The enhanced system enables the Museum to ensure the highest quality of care for the collection for decades to come.
In progress:
ARMS AND ARMOR GALLERIES
Exhibiting a beloved collection
Opening in late 2025, the new Arms and Armor Galleries will span over 5,000 square feet of transformed space. Innovative displays will allow more than 1,000 objects to be on view at once, showcasing the global and historical breadth of arms and armor in new ways.
ELEVATOR MODERNIZATION
Expanding accessibility across four floors of art
The building’s central elevator is being replaced, with a widened shaft and new machinery that bring modern standards of accessibility to the entire Museum.
CLIMATE CONTROL UPGRADES
Providing a comfortable environment for visitors and art alike
Improvements to the air handling and climate control systems will enhance the Museum’s ability to care for its collection and ensure a comfortable experience for visitors.
AMERICAN ART GALLERIES
Telling a more inclusive story of American art
Integrating painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, three reimagined galleries will display these works in an entirely new context to present a more complete understanding of American art.
FULLER CONSERVATION LAB
Updating high-tech workspaces
Numerous upgrades are being made to the Museum’s in-house Fuller Conservation Lab. Watch for conservation in action throughout the galleries while this work is in progress.
In memoriam
James N. Heald II
James “Jim” N. Heald II was a lifelong Member, donor, and friend to the Worcester Art Museum. A trustee emeritus, he served on the Board of Trustees from 1991 to 2000, and as a corporator from 1975 to 2000. He was a member of the Salisbury Giving Society since the 1980s and was awarded the prestigious Salisbury Award in 2001 recognizing his outstanding service and philanthropy to the Museum. He also served on several committees, most notably the Collections Committee, which he chaired from 1993 to 2000.
Jim was an extremely generous person and held a particular appreciation for the Museum’s Prints, Drawings, and Photographs and Conservation departments. Over several decades, he offered dedicated support towards the acquisition of stellar artworks and the departments’ operational needs. Working in concert with David Acton, a former curator of works on paper, he made significant contributions towards two groundbreaking print exhibitions: The Stamp of Impulse (2001) and A Spectrum of Innovation: Color in American Printmaking, 1890–1960 (1990).
WAM’s Stoddard Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, Nancy Kathryn Burns, describes Jim as a pivotal influence on her work as a curator. “[Jim] was among the most knowledgeable print
connoisseurs I have ever known. He not only had mastery of the history of late 19th- and 20th-century printmaking, but he also had an impeccable eye for recognizing superlative impressions.”
On a personal note, she adds, “I began working with him as a curatorial assistant over 15 years ago. He was a stalwart supporter of emerging curators in the field, including me. Quite honestly, Jim’s opinions and insights carried such weight that when he began engaging with me as a peer—when I was invited to call him Jim as opposed to Mr. Heald—it felt like a turning point in my career. I had made it. He was that exceptional.”
In addition to his arts patronage, Jim was equally hardworking and erudite, with degrees from Yale University and Harvard Business School. After an esteemed 35-year career at Heald Machine Company, his family’s business that was founded in Barre in 1826 and operated in Worcester from 1903 to 1992, he devoted his efforts to volunteerism, supporting the Museum and numerous other local non-profit organizations.
The Worcester Art Museum community will miss Jim’s intellect, sense of humor, and thoughtful nature. Jim passed away on August 5, 2024, but his memory will live on through his profound impact and legacy.
James N. Heald II
Margaret Jordon Patterson, American, 1867-1950, Summer Clouds, about 1918, Color woodcut on cream laid paper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James N. Heald II, 2011.503
What does the Museum mean to you?
Heidi Finnegan
I started visiting the Worcester Art Museum over 25 years ago using passes from my local library. My husband and I would plan a date, get a babysitter, head to the Museum, and then go out for an early dinner at one of Worcester's great restaurants. I looked forward to these dates, on which I got to explore new exhibitions and visit old favorites. As an English teacher, I especially enjoyed the Scarlet Letter piece made from book pages and would seek it out whenever I visited the Museum.
When we had to transfer my mother to a nursing home in Worcester, the Museum became even more special, and that is when I became a Member. Because it was close and wheelchair accessible, it became a refuge for the two of us. I would pick Mom up, head to the Museum, and wheel her through different worlds and periods. She loved exploring ancient Egypt, Japan, and the coasts of Maine. For her, it was an escape from the institutional world of elder care, and for me, it was a time to share an experience we never had when I was younger and my mother was working three jobs to support her family.
I also love that the Museum connects to the community and collaborates with other organizations. On one of our visits, my mother and I enjoyed a living art exhibition with student actors from the Hanover Theatre taking on the roles of the subjects in the various paintings. The highlight of that event was one of my former students playing the role of a harlequin. Watching her do something she was passionate about in a place I was passionate about reminded me how vital the arts are for everyone, regardless of age or socioeconomic status. The Worcester Art Museum simultaneously transfers me to different worlds while grounding me in a place that feels like home.
Heidi Finnegan is a long-time Worcester Art Museum Member and a teacher from Hopedale, MA.
Judy Nitsch
I’ve loved the Worcester Art Museum since I took a course there while an undergraduate at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the 1970s. Our teacher was Muriel Camarra and—to this day—I can still see Albrecht Dürer's rabbit sketch which she used to illustrate his work.
Fast forward to about ten years ago when I had occasionally been going to the Museum to see a particular show and decided to join. What has drawn me the most over the years was Flora in Winter, which I’ve attended annually with my WPI college roommate and her husband. We always love exploring the galleries to find the floral arrangement by Mary Fletcher!
The three of us were at the Rembrandt exhibition last year when my friend—and fellow WPI trustee emeritus—Warner Fletcher told me that the event’s earlier get-together was for members of the Salisbury Giving Society. His wife Mary is on the Museum’s Salisbury Committee, and, in a flash, I became a Salisbury Giving Society Patron.
My firm, Nitsch Engineering, has been a corporate supporter of the Museum and also served as the civil and structural engineer and permitting consultant for the new Salisbury Street entrance improvements. I’m an engineer who can’t draw a straight line without a straight edge…but I do love art and have collected art by architects for many years.
This fall, I went on the Museum Travel Alliance trip to Rome for a week of sightseeing and studying Bernini sculptures and churches, courtesy of my WAM membership.
Judy Nitsch is a Salisbury Giving Society Patron and the Founding Principal of Nitsch Engineering (www.nitscheng.com).
Heidi Finnegan
Judy Nitsch
Tim Rollins and K.O.S., The Scarlet Letter VI, 1993, oil and acrylic on book pages mounted on canvas, Gift of Rosalie T. Rose in memory of Sidney Rose, 2012.94, gallery view.
Rembrandt van Rijn, Man with a broad hat and a ruff, 1630, etching on paper, Mrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection, 1926.1439
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