Incollect Magazine - Issue 3

Issue 3 116 www.incollect.com A Unique Vision Shelburne Museum Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, is the remarkable result of one trailblazing person’s lifelong passion and profound commitment to a unique vision. Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960) was a woman of unparalleled fortitude and taste who stood out as one of the few woman collectors in her time as well as one of the earliest collectors of what we now know as American folk art (Fig. 1). Seventy-five years after she founded Shelburne Museum, Mrs. Webb’s “educational project, varied and alive” stands as a testament to its founder’s innovation in both the art and museum fields. Webb’s vision was for a place that was approachable, accessible, and committed to history, art, and learning. No project was too complicated when it came to realizing her vision. What started as one original building (what is now Variety Unit) grew to 39. From Dorset House to the Lighthouse to Stagecoach Inn to the Covered Bridge — 25 buildings appeared on flatbeds, in pieces to be reassembled, or in the case of the steamboat Ticonderoga on railroad tracks laid for the purpose of moving the boat two miles over land from Lake Champlain. One can imagine. It was an exciting time (Fig. 2). In the 1980s that intrepid spirit was in full effect, witness the silo for Round Barn arriving by helicopter. In 2013, the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education, inaugurated year-round operation and, by adding new state-of-the-art galleries and classroom space, opened up the institution to new audiences (Fig. 3).