A Visit to the Fairbanks Museum

When you step through the doors of the grand stone building, Richardsonian Romanesque in style, of the Fairbanks Museum in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, you enter a time machine which whisks you back to the late 19th century, into a Victorian cabinet of curiosities. Along with the ticket taker, bears welcome you into a space that hasn't changed in over 100 years. I love visiting this natural history museum, and taking guests to see it; it is intimate and personal and quirky, a place where time has stopped.




On the ground floor there are hundreds of birds on display, and dioramas of animals local and exotic, here the noble cats of Vermont––mountain lion (catamount) and lynx (or bobcat?). The aged look of these displays is touching to me; they are very simple compared to the grandeur of those at the Museum of Natural History in NYC.




There's even a display of the lowly woodchuck, the bane of gardeners. Does he look cute, or like a big rat? I love the lichens on the rock adding a naturalistic note, and those stiff black-eyed susan flowers provide a touch of the comic.




Upstairs, a beautiful vaulted wood ceiling adds grace to the galleries marching around the sides of the building. Franklin Fairbanks, the founder of the museum, collected widely, so there is a eclectic range of objects on view, from African instruments to American dolls, Chinese shoes to biblical parchments. There are just a few of each category on view, with old labels looking like they were printed many years ago.




Here are two details from intensely worked, remarkable Chinese embroideries, showing this needle work as a high art. The information on them was scant, so not helpful. (click to enlarge and see details of any image)




There are a small number of interesting Native American objects, including this saddle bag from the mid 19th century. I love the bold patterning of paint on the rawhide. I wonder how many of the shapes are symbols, and how many are there because they simply pleased the artist.




For me, the highlight of the Fairbanks collections is the "Bug Art", images made up of thousands of insects, which bring out the kid in me, the sense of wonder. The nine pieces the museum owns, the entire output of the artist and entomologist John Hampson, were made in the late 19th century. Each work uses 6,000 to 13,000 insects and took years to complete. The designs aren't particularly interesting––along with abstract circular designs are an American flag and a portrait of George Washington––but the sheer doggedness of the activity is amazing.




And, as you can see in this detail, the bugs make beautiful patterns, and are full of color and light.




For a final treat, down in the basement of the museum is the weather station for the "Eye on the Sky" guys, Vermont's premier weather forecasters. This is it, local readers, the place where your essential forecasts originate (that might be Chris Bouchard in the chair).

If you're in the area, I highly recommend a visit to this gem of a museum; and then you can walk across the street to the library, the Saint Johnsbury Atheneum, and see their art collection, another surprising gift to a visitor.