The Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts: A Classical Treasure in Springfield

The Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts is one of two Springfield Museums dedicated to fine and decorative arts.  Mr. & Mrs. James Philip Gray left their entire estate for the “selection, purchase, preservation, and exhibition of the most valuable, meritorious, artistic, and high class oil paintings obtainable,” and for the construction of a museum to house them. The Art Deco-style museum was opened in 1934.


It is amazing what can be discovered when one takes full advantage of opportunities.  Since I have been exploring the art museums of New England, I have become aware of a wide variety of institutions.  On Friday, I drove up 91N less than an hour from my home to explore one of several Springfield museums which I had never visited.  I suspect that my first visit with Sue, a high school friend, will not be my last.

The exhibit we traveled to see was created by the Brooklyn Museum and included 57 masterworks exploring the artists who defined the development of American art.  Most of the artists found on the walls are well known: Georgia O’Keeffe, Milton Avery, Marsden Hartley, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Rockwell Kent, Elie Nadelman, Reginald Marsh and Norman Rockwell.  The works selected for this show forces the viewer to keep shifting her perspective as each has different tone.  With such variety, it is hard to select a favorite.  But I admit I was pleased to see art by Milton Avery and Marsden Hartley on display.

I have come to think of Milton Avery as painting women as abstract shapes of color, so I was surprised to see a wonderfully, detailed picture of his daughter.  It was a reminder of how artists evolve over time.

Milton Avery.  Artist's Daughter by the Sea 1943 

I am sure that Marsden Hartley has also evolved, but the sample of his art in this exhibit seemed to represent the style one generally associates with him.  And no one could complain as his bright, primitive style is delightful to observe.

Handsome Drinks, 1916
Marsden Hartley (1877-1943)
Oil on composition board

Marsden Hartley (American, 1877-1943). Summer Clouds and Flowers, 1942. Oil on fabricated board

Erastus Salisbury Field 

Historical monument of the American Republic

When entering The Michele & Donald D'Amour Museum you are greeted by broad marble stairs and center atrium.  The archictecture of the interior space announces that many treasures will be found within.

 At the end of the Blake Court, the visitor spies a very large canvas which simply demands a closer inspection.

Historical Monument of the American Republic, 1867-1888 by Erastus Salisbury Field, oil on canvas

Erastus Salisbury Field Historical Monument is a very large (9 feet high x 13 feet wide) is an extraordinary canvas which endeavored to document history of the United States.  It was Field's hope that his vision would ultimately be built.  He plans to raise the funds by exhibiting the painting and providing lectures on his vision.  However, the Field's dream never became a reality.  There is a certain frustration in exploring this work of art because it is very difficult to see the details or understand the symbolism that Field used in his masterpiece.  Below is a sample of the type of images which are the foundation of this fantastical representation of our history. It was originally published in the article Ideology and Rhetoric in Erastus Salisbury Field's "The Historical Monument of the American Republic" by Paul Staiti published in Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Spring, 1992), pp. 29-43