See Koch’s Vermont Marble Quarry on view in the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts.

Art: Vermont Marble Quarry (about 1941), oil on canvas by John Koch (American, 1909-1978). The James Philip Gray Collection, 44.02.

fairly loose, painterly approach.

Koch described himself as an untrained artist. Except for a few lessons in charcoal drawing and vacations at the art colony in Provincetown, Massachusetts, he learned to paint in Paris where he lived from 1928 to 1933, and where “the Louvre was [his] master.”

vacationed in the summer. The painting depicts a sunlit, watery landscape occupied by four youthful, semi-nude figures. The idealized, graceful bodies seem to be in harmony with nature and with each other. Koch’s interest in French art is evident in his subject matter as well as his...

Grinchmas is sponsored by The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, Auth Fuels, Berkshire Bank, M&T Bank, Wolf and Company, P.C., New England Public Media, and Connecticut Public. Illuminations made possible by Decorate with Lights Western Massachusetts. Season supporter is MassMutual.

Whether you use it for yourself or gift it for the holidays, purchase a membership today:
springfieldmuseums.org/membership/

Cannot be combined with other offers. Order by Dec 15 for Christmas delivery.

Grinchmas is sponsored by The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, Auth Fuels, Berkshire Bank, M&T Bank, Wolf and Company, P.C., New England Public Media, and Connecticut Public. Illuminations made possible by Decorate with Lights Western Massachusetts. Season supporter is MassMutual.

Tonight, 5–7 pm: Don’t miss the annual Lighting of the Quadrangle, free and open to all!
springfieldmuseums.org/program/the-lighting-of-the-quadrangle-2025/

increase brightness and gloss.

The Museums are CLOSED TODAY but will be OPEN FRIDAY for Holiday Happenings from 10am-5pm and the Lighting of the Quadrangle from 5-7pm.

scenes of New England. Here he shows the roofs of the buildings as well as the ground blanketed with white fluffy snow. The animals are healthy and the buildings are in good repair. The shiny quality of the paint on the tree trunks is a result of gum arabic, a substance added to watercolor to...

satisfaction and contentment of a city man returning to his country home to celebrate the holiday. He steps away from his elegant horse-drawn carriage to meet his welcoming parents at the front door. Artist George Durrie, nicknamed ‘the snowman,” was known for his peaceful and idealized snow...

Grinchmas is sponsored by The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, Auth Fuels, Berkshire Bank, M&T Bank, Wolf and Company, P.C., New England Public Media, and Connecticut Public. Illuminations made possible by Decorate with Lights Western Massachusetts. Season supporter is MassMutual.

Featured: Falcon Incense Burner (circa 1890), hollow cast silver and lacquer with silver fittings by Tatsuhiro (Japanese, active 19th century). George Walter Vincent Smith Collection, 56.23.43

falcons displayed as art objects at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and since lost. However, no signatures or records confirm this conjecture.

Find more Japanese incense burners on view in the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum.

samurai life. Falconry, or the sport of keeping falcons or other birds of prey to hunt with, was a favorite pastime of samurai and their leaders, the shogun. Some scholars have speculated that this bird was one of twelve highly praised metal...

exquisite objects that often combined several different materials.

When George Walter Vincent Smith purchased this piece in 1901 from Yamanaka and Company, an important New York import firm, he was likely drawn to the quality of the craftsmanship and the falcon’s symbolic connection to...

Tatsuhiro and an unknown lacquer-maker, the sculpture is an excellent example of Meiji period (1868-1912) decorative art. During this period, Japanese metalworkers, who had previously been employed to produce arms and armor for the samurai, began to make intricate and...

Grinchmas is sponsored by The Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation, Auth Fuels, Berkshire Bank, M&T Bank, Wolf and Company, P.C., New England Public Media, and Connecticut Public. Illuminations made possible by Decorate with Lights Western Massachusetts. Season supporter is MassMutual.

in the joyful tree lighting that marks the start of the holidays!

Free and open to the public−museum admission not required: springfieldmuseums.org/program/the-...