Historic Deerfield is home to one of the best public collections of art and antiques in America. Begun and formed in large part by founders Henry and Helen Flynt during a lifetime of collecting, the collection has been refined with hundreds of additions by professional staff since the mid-1970s.
Much of the collection is on display in historic houses, as well as in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, home to both exhibitions and visible storage in the Museum’s Attic. Information and images of many objects are also available though the Five College Museums/Historic Deerfield Collections Database.
The following list highlights strengths in Historic Deerfield’s collections:
Furniture: As the core area of collecting by Historic Deerfield, the furniture collection focuses on pieces from the Connecticut River Valley. Also present are masterworks from seaport cities, many of which belong to The George Alfred Cluett Collection of American Furniture and Clocks currently on display in the exhibition Into the Woods: Crafting Early American Furniture.
Ceramics: Consisting of several thousand objects, the ceramics collection at Historic Deerfield specializes in Chinese export porcelain; English ceramics, featuring The Alistair Sampson Collection of English Creamware; and Whately pottery (earthenware and stoneware).
Textiles, Clothing, and Embroidery: Celebrating the Fiber Arts is a permanent exhibition with changing elements on display in The Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery is a permanent exhibition area in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life dedicated to the display of objects from the collections of textiles, clothing and embroidery. A testament to over 60 years of collecting, it organizes objects by the four natural fibers—silk, wool, cotton, and linen. Needlework is a particular strength, including samplers and pictures. The museum also holds several early and important quilts and bedrugs.
Paintings: Numbering in the hundreds, and mostly on display throughout the rooms of the historic houses, the collection includes several portraits by Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900), and the only known portrait of American architect Asher Benjamin (1773-1845).
Maps and Prints: Housed in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life and the Memorial Libraries, and the historic houses (particularly the Ashley House), the collection focuses on prints and maps known to have been owned in Deerfield and the Connecticut River Valley, the collection’s strengths include: portraits (New England), landscapes, political and allegorical prints, and depictions of historical events.
Silver and Metalware: The Henry Needham Flynt Silver and Metalware Collection focuses on early American silver, especially from New England. The original collection of 92 pieces has grown to more than 4,000 objects of American and English silver, with a strength in local church silver including: the communion silver of the First Church of Deerfield and loans from the First Churches of Northampton, and the First Church of Sunderland, Massachusetts. The building features a silversmith’s workshop with many traditional tools, and a room devoted to pewter and other metalwares made and used in early America.
Glass: This collection includes several hundred pieces of English and American glass, including examples from the Warwick, Massachusetts, Glass Factory.
Powder Horns: Historic Deerfield is proud to be home to one of the finest assemblages of this indigenous and unique American art form, thanks in large part to the acquisition of The William H. Guthman Collection of Engraved American Powder Horns in 2005. The collection is currently on display in the exhibition Engraved Powder Horns from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.
Folk Art: Many objects in the collections, especially some furniture pieces and the engraved powder horns, can also be classified as folk art.
Transportation: While not an active area of collecting, Historic Deerfield is home to The Frank Boyden Carriage Collection. Available by appointment only.
Books, Manuscripts, and Archival Documents: The Memorial Libraries are home to several thousand volumes of rare books, manuscripts, and archival documents.
Historic Interiors: Historic houses are the core of the museum’s public offerings, and include many authentically decorated and furnished interiors representing time periods from 1725 right up through 1850.
Architectural Restoration: Historic houses are the core of the museum’s public offerings, and include many authentic exteriors representing time periods from 1730 right up through 1848.
For the fourth year in a row, students from the PS 146 school in East Harlem, NY have chosen to visit Historic Deerfield for a hands-on lesson in Colonial American History. On June 4, more than 50 fourth-graders will trade the busy city life for a glimpse at life in Western Massachusetts.
Please join us in exploring the materials, techniques and designs of the best furniture made in early America at our woodworking symposium, November 14-16.
Heading into the summer vacation season, new attendance reports at Historic Deerfield through May show a 14 percent increase in total attendance from this point last year. And, the number of visitors has climbed 21 percent since two years ago.
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View 75 powder horns that offer a wealth of documentary information about the original owners and carvers who created them.
Explore a dazzling array of masterworks by famous American cabinetmakers including Duncan Phyfe and Honoré Lannuier, Samuel McIntire, John and Thomas Seymour, and John Townsend. Included with general admission.
A look at the distinctive styles and techniques brought by joiners from England to the town of Windsor's early furniture.
Our redware candlestick is made locally by Stephen Earp. Dimensions are 4" round and about 2" high. Perfect for those long cold winters or for the relaxing candle-light evenings. Perfect for table or bedside use.
This collection catalogue introduces a wide range of topics pertaining to tin-glazed ceramics or delftware. Chapters organized by function rather than chronology or decoration, review the variety of delftware forms in the museum's collection, that range from posset pots to punch bowls. The book's introductory chapters explore the background of collecting delftware at Historic Deerfield, the history of delftware manufacturing, and its sale and consumption in the Connecticut River Valley.
How people in a rural area acquired objects and knowledge to improve themselves and the society in which they lived.
A commemorative look at the 1704 raid on Deerfield, its cultural significance and its aftermath for native and English descendents.
