Peter Foulger Gallery of the
Nantucket Whaling Museum
May 23 - November 11, 2008

With support from the 'Sconset Trust and the 'Sconset Civic Association, the NHA announces that its 2008 major summer exhibition in the Peter Foulger Gallery of the Nantucket Whaling Museum will be 'Sconset 02564, A Celebration of the Patchwork Village.

The exhibition will feature the history, architecture, personalities, and "character" of this unique village at the eastern end of Nantucket, often described as the most charming in America, following its evolution from a fishing village to a world-renowned summer resort.

Thursday - Monday 11 A.M. - 4 P.M. through May 26, will open seven days a week beginning May 29.  

Make the most of the early-spring season with an informative visit to the Whaling Museum.  Featuring exhibits about Nantucket history, decorative arts, scrimshaw, and numerous interactive, hands-on learning opportunities for children twelve and under, the museum includes a restored 1847 candle factory, with its original whale-oil beam press (a three-story wooden structure that is the only such artifact surviving anywhere in the world); a 47-foot sperm-whale skeleton; a fully rigged whaleboat; a vast collection of whaling tools; the 16-foot Fresnel lens from Sankaty lighthouse; and numerous portraits of whaling captains and their wives and the vessels they sailed in. The film Bones of History, the Whale Hunt Lecture, the whaleship Essex Gam, and various gallery tours also provide a source of endless possibilities for learning and enjoyable visits.

NHA Historic Sites will open for the Season on Thursday, May 29.

The Hadwen House, 96 Main Street; Oldest House and period Kitchen Garden, 16 Sunset Hill; Old Mill, 50 Prospect Street; Quaker Meeting House, 7 Fair Street; Fire Hose-Cart House, 8 Gardner Street; and the Old Gaol, 15R Vestal Street will be open Monday - Saturday, 10 A.M. - 5 P.M. Sunday, 12 - 5 P.M.

In the Whitney Gallery at the Research Library, 7 Fair Street

Janet McGlinn was one of the most talented postwar artists working on Nantucket. She founded the Nantucket Printmakers with Schuyler Bradt (1909-79) in 1969 and taught printmaking, especially the technique of collograph, at the Artists Association of Nantucket when the workshop existed in the winter in the closed Kenneth Taylor Galleries. A Philadelphia native, McGlinn attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Art Students League in New York City. Her stunning print series vividly highlights key scenes and characters from Moby-Dick, including the famous whale-jawbone bar at the Spouter Inn; Moby-Dick himself; Queequeg; Ahab; a cutting-in scene; and a poignant image of Ishmael, the sole survivor at the end of the epic tale.  The gallery is open during library hours: Monday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 A.M. - 4 P.M. and Tuesday, 11 A.M. - 4 P.M. Closed Wednesday, weekends, and all holidays. Call 508-228-1655 for further information.

The shop is open for the season!  New this year, after receiving permission to reprint, we have the Commemorative Edition of Greater Light on Nantucket: A Memoir, written by Hanna D. Monaghan in 1973, available for $16.00. The exhibition catalog The Nantucket Art Colony, 1920-1945 is also available for $29.95.  For those who loved last season's summer exhibition, this is the book for you. The catalog gives in-depth descriptions of each painting in the exhibition, with a foreword by NHA executive director Bill Tramposch. As always, you may shop on-line by visiting the website, or place orders by calling 508-228-5785.

Fridays & Saturdays at 3:00 P.M.
May 30 - September 27

Learn about the herbs and plants and their uses that are growing in this replicated 1700s kitchen garden. Discussion led by NHA staff member Kathrina Pearl, who is currently completing a certificate program in Historic Landscape Preservation at the Landscape Institute of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. Pearl researched and designed the garden, and will provide an overview of a period kitchen garden and the orchard at the Oldest House.