Shelburne Museum

I am not a collector, however, I could easily become a collector of miniatures or little boxes perhaps. But I simply won't allow myself to indulge in something that requires more dusting.

Whenever I'm in the presence of real collectors I'm intrigued and this is

the case with Elektra Havemeyer Webb. She was a remarkable pioneer of collecting for the sake of preserving/educating and she developed the Shelburne Museum.

This woman collected everything: goblets, dolls, carriages, even buildings! She'd have them torn down and brought to her museum and rebuilt. This makes for a very interesting museum and one with a lot of fresh air.

A very genteel woman carefully mapped out our route since we only had 4 hours, with wee ones in tow. The Mary Cassat exhibit came first. Peanut was most fascinated with her sketches. Peanut is quite the artist, but portraits are really challenging for her. I told her they were challenging for Mary, too, which is why she only painted her close friends and family. The majority of Cassat's works on display were of mothers and children. Naked, chubby babies to be exact. This intrigued Peanut beyond words and I simply explained to her that everyone in the world loves naked, chubby babies! There was a Monet I'd never seen, and many Degas on display as well since they were such dear friends.

Since I haven't (yet) been to Paducah, I was overcome by the Quilt Exhibit here. I just don't understand how women had the time to hand quilt these marvelous quilts. I call myself a quilter, but seriously. Who do I think I am?

I asked everyone what their favorite part of the museum was and here's what they had to say:

Grandma - "I could have spent days there. I liked her collection of miniature tea sets and really appreciated all the effort that went into her doll houses; she actually hand wove the rugs on the floors, and hand-upholstered the tiny chairs! Since I owned a Doll Hospital once upon a time, I enjoyed her doll collection, too. We flew through the place in 4 hours and I can't believe we missed the circus buildings!"

Peanut - the beautiful chair in her miniature doll houses and Mary Cassat's sketches

Little Man - the wooden boats, the Ticonderoga, the old school bus on skiis and all the other carriages, too.

Doodle - the dolls, dressing up (in the Family Center), and the carousel

A note about carousels: Originally Noah's Ark animals were on carousels until it became obvious that children's prized ride was on a gentle pony. Slowly the scary lions and tigers and bears were swapped out for colorful horses! Elektra accumulated a gorgeous collection of all the rejected animals and intended to put together a new carousel. Later she decided they were just too beautiful and needed to be preserved.

Thank you, Elektra! This place was super!