Dont Miss These Great Exhibitions At The Fenimore Art Museum
Featuring ever-changing exhibitions of art and culture, tours, book signings, lectures, and gorgeous terrace gardens with panoramic views of Otsego Lake, the Fenimore Art Museum is not to be missed. The museum collection is housed in an impressive neo-Georgian structure built in the 1930s on the site of James Fenimore Coopers early 19th century farmhouse.
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Loved the exhibit. Reading the granddaughter’s personal notes were heartfelt & so touching. A don’t miss for anyone that loves Wyeth works.
New York City, New York
This was one of my favorite things in Cooperstown. I enjoyed the James Fenimore Cooper exhibit so much. It explains the history of Cooperstown. The exhibit of Button was fun too. The outside grounds are a beautiful place for a walk to get an up close look at Glimmerglass Lake. We ate lunch on the patio and it was delicious. I highly recommend this attraction.
This museum is located on the shore of Otsego Lake and it is a gem. There are wonderful pictures in its collection. We were lucky to see a special exhibit of Andrew Wyeth’s works, and photos of him taken by his granddaughter. Everyone loves all of the artists in the Wyeth family and this is a personal look at all of them. Not to be missed.
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Great Venue
Fabulous experience at Fenimore Art Museum!
Beautiful venue with great event coordinator
We love to work at the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown NY. The venue is an amazing blend of classy elegance and country chic in one place. The Fenimore Art Museum’s grounds overlook a grand panorama of Otsego Lake giving a beautiful background to your wedding photos. The Farmer’s museum, with the simple light filled church is a wonderful venue for a ceremony and the grounds of the museum as indicated in the name is perfect for a country or rustic style wedding. The best part is you get all this without giving up modern faciltities, great parking and a village of museums and shopping for your out of town guests.
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Fenimore Art Museum In Cooperstown New York
Cooperstown might be metaphorically synonymous with the Baseball Hall of Fame, but its literally the namesake of William Cooper. He founded the Village in 1786 and was the father of writer James Fenimore Cooper.
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The younger Cooper lived an eventful life. Legend has it that he was expelled from Yale University for trying to blow up a classmates door. After that, he joined the Navy. He married and had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. In 1826, he moved his family to Europe, spending much time in Paris. He returned to America in 1833, living for a time in New York City, and ultimately ending his years back home in Cooperstown. Amid all this adventure, he prolifically wrote history, politics, biography, satire, travel memoir, short stories, and novels, including his best-known five-volume series the Leatherstocking Tales, set in his home area of central New York.
He owned a large piece of land with a spectacular view of Lake Otsego in Cooperstown. Today the property is graced with a neo-Georgian mansion that houses the Fenimore Art Museum. A permanent exhibit acquaints visitors with the Cooper family. Other permanent collections include fine, folk, and native art.
There is also an outdoor exhibit, Otsego: A Meeting Place, which represents the area during 1750-1850, with displays along a walking path offering beautiful views of the Lake.
Art In The Dark Tours At The Fenimore Art Museum Cooperstown Nyoctober 19 20 26 27 At : : 30 And : 30 Pmtickets: $1350 Members $1600 Non
Cooperstown, New YorkSee Fenimore Art Museums collections in a way never experienced beforein the darkwith its Art in the Dark tours. Join museum guides as they lead you through the galleries of American folk art and fine art by lantern light, stopping along the way to share some of the mysterious, melancholy, and untold stories within the artworks. Discover hidden secrets within the paintings with the help of a special ultraviolet light.
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The Coopers Of Cooperstown
The Cooper name has been tied to the Otsego Lake region for more than ten generations. It is here that a special bond united a family with the land, prompting a vision that inspired a great American literary tradition and fostered the growth of a small village and its surrounding environs. This collection shares some of James Fenimore Coopers personal effects and best-loved possessions. Search here to see objects from the Cooper collection
About The Fenimore Art Museum
The Fenimore Art Museum, formerly known as the New York State HistoricalAssociation, was founded in 1899 by a small group of New Yorkcitizens interested in preserving and promoting awareness of thestates early history. In 1940 it moved to Cooperstown, NY, havingbeen offered the Fenimore House by Stephen Carlton Clark, an avidcollector of American art. Although the museums original focus wason art related to life in central New York, its artistic vision hasexpanded over the years and the museum is now recognized for itsleading role in collecting and promoting 19th centuryAmerican art, American folk art, and more recently Native Americanart. The Fenimore Art Museum offers a dynamic program of changingexhibitions and events that appeal to a national audience.
The Fenimore Art Museum and students
The Fenimore Art Museum’s textile collection is comprised of approximately 6500 objects, including about 500 quilts and quilt-related objects nearly 100 samplers hand-made coverlets and a diverse array of clothing and costumes.From this collection, 38 samplers werecontributed to the Sampler Archive database, of which all but acouple have been identified as American and are viewable by thepublic online at the Sampler Archive website. In keeping with themuseums origins, the majority of needlework samplers were createdby girls growing up in central New York or byindividuals with ties to local New York families later in life.
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Dynamic Dozen Distinguished In December
Dynamic Dozen Distinguished in December
Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers Museum at the annual recognition event held on Wednesday, December 21. Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Board of Directors of The Farmers Museum, presented the awards and Dr. Paul S. DAmbrosio, president and CEO of the two institutions, presided. A 35-year award was presented to Bob Thompson. Patrick MacGregor received a 30-year award and 25-year awards were given to Meg Preston and Chris Rossi. Kevin Gray and Pete Wiswell received 20-year awards, and 15-year awards were presented to Christine Olsen, Walter Ashley, Mark Simonson, Joelle LaChance, and Todd Kenyon. Lynne Mebust accepted a 10-year award. Pictured above, standing from left, are: Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Board of Directors of The Farmers Museum Christine Olsen, registrar Lynne Mebust, museum teacher Walter Ashley, interpreter Kevin Gray, manager of arts education Mark Simonson, interpreter Paul DAmbrosio, president and CEO and Todd Kenyon, director of marketing and communications. Seated: Meg Preston, agriculture events coordinator Bob Thompson, associate director of agriculture facilities Patrick MacGregor, manager of interpretation and Chris Rossi, director of exhibitions. Not in attendance: Pete Wiswell, superintendent of building services, and Joelle LaChance, interpreter.
New Exhibitions For 2022
In 2022, the Fenimore Art Museum will present nine new exhibitions alongside its world-renowned collections of fine art, folk art, and Native American art, which includes The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art.
The summer is highlighted by two major exhibitions. Drawn from Life: Three Generations of Wyeth Figure Studies explores three generations of the venerable Wyeth family, primarily N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. This insightful exhibition examines the process of how each individually honed their expertise of rendering the human form through rigorous academic exercises conducted both in the studio and in some cases, the morgue.
The second, Unmasking Venice: American Artists in the City of Water explores the two Venetian worlds depicted by American artists during the late 19th to early 20th centuries and includes work by a diverse group of artists, including Jane Peterson and Henry Ossawa Tanner.
For full exhibit info, please visit fenimoreartmuseum.org
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Cooperstown Graduate Program In Museum Studies
Under the leadership of Dr. Cynthia Falk, students in the CooperstownGraduate Program in Museum Studies collaborated with the SamplerArchive Project to document and research 46 schoolgirl samplers fromthe collections of The Fenimore Art Museum. Documentation was conducted by students taking two differentcourses, one in the Spring of 2015 and one in the Spring of 2016.Instruction providing an overview to historic samplers as materialculture, as well as training and support in Sampler Archivedocumentation procedures, was conducted via interactive webinars byDr. Lynne Anderson, Director of the Sampler Archive Project.
The Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies in Cooperstown, New Yorkis an academic program within the State University of New YorksCollege at Oneonta, NY. The program offers a generalist approach toMuseum Studies, enabling masters students to explore all aspectsof museum work – from collections to fundraising. Classes focus onproject-based learning, where students conduct tangible, useful workon real-world projects. The program partners with local museums,historical societies, schools, and nonprofits to work on diverseprojects such as interpretive plans, educational programs, budgets,and exhibits so that the programs courses have real-world impact,and provide students with real-world skills and experience.
Fenimore Art Museum Is A Museum Of American Art
It is named for the property on which it stands, land once owned by the novelist James Fenimore Cooper. The Museum occupies a 1933 mansion built by Edward Severin Clark, an heir to the Singer Manufacturing Company fortune. Following his death the building was given to the Museum by his brother, philanthropist and art collector Stephen Carlton Clark, who also gave much of the fine art and folk art collections. Stephen later turned his brothers farm complex across the road into The Farmers Museum, which to this day shares much of its staff with Fenimore Art Museum.
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For A Museum Of Its Size Fenimore Art Museum Tells A Remarkable Range Of American Stories
- Its fine art collection illustrates everyday life in early America and chronicles the development of the young nation.
- Its folk art collection shows the work of self-taught Americans who were inspired to create and who probably never thought their work would be in an art museum: traveling portrait painters, quilters, ship carvers, sign painters, students in female academies, and people from many different backgrounds and all walks of life.
- The photography collection illustrates the entire history of photography in the United States, from early daguerreotypes to contemporary photographers.
- The Cooper family collection shows the unique qualities of Cooperstown and Otsego Lake as seen in the writings of Americas first novelist, James Fenimore Cooper.
- The American Indian Art collection shows the masterful artistry of Native peoples from across North America from prehistory to the present.
- Special exhibitions and programs held regularly at the museum introduce visitors to a wide range of artworks and stories from our own as well as other museums and collections.
- Our members and visitors give us valuable ideas and feedback to guide us in future programming.
Fenimore Art Museum, and the stories it tells, aspires to provide an engaging experience leading to a renewed or enhanced appreciation of American art, history, and culture, and the many and varied people who comprise the American story.
May 27 September 4 2017
This exhibition celebrates Andrew Wyeths 100th birthday as expressed by his granddaughter and guest curator, Victoria Wyeth. The exhibition will include objects from Ms. Wyeths personal collection, many never-before exhibited, including Andrew Wyeths sketches, studies, paintings, artifacts, and ephemera, as well as Ms. Wyeths own photographs of her grandfather. Read More >
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Visit The Fenimore Art Museum
Located on the western shore of Otsego Lake, housed in an elegant 1930s neo-Georgian mansion, the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY presents a perspective on the heritage and history of America through art. The beauty of the museum setting is matched by the quality of the collections it houses, including some of the nations finest examples of American landscape, history and genre paintings, American folk art, photography, and American Indian art. The museum café is the perfect spot for a light lunch. The dining area is situated on the museums terrace and is surrounded by beautiful plantings and a panoramic view of Otsego Lake.
As an added bonus we are excited to offer a discounted membership for the Fenimore Art Museum and Farmers Museum. for more details.
Choose the perfect room at The Inn at Cooperstown and experience one of the most enthralling art museums in America.
What To Know Before You Go To The Fenimore Art Museum
The Fenimore Art Museum is located at 5798 State Highway 80 in Cooperstown, New York. There is adequate parking.
The Museum has a small gift shop. There is also café offering tasty lunch items and beer and wine, which you may enjoy at tables on the mansions back porch, with spectacular views of Lake Otsego.
Allow one to two hours.
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Where To Stay
If youre spending the night during your visit to the Fenimore Art Museum, Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast offers an outstanding value compared to the inns and hotels located in the Village of Cooperstown.
Immerse yourself in the historic charm of our 1800s Colonial-style housefeaturing four en suite guest rooms with modern amenities, free Wi-Fi and parking, comfortable bedding, and a private bathroom.
Were located at 112 W German Street in Herkimer, NY, an easy, scenic 35-minute drive from the Fenimore Art Museum.
Book directly at grand-colonial.com or by phone at 315-982-5004. Cancellation is free for all direct booking reservations.
