Lovely museum! Its big enough it has many different exhibits but also small enough you can explore it all in one or two visits. Staff was very kind and helpful, also super knowledgeable on all exhibits and the products in the gift shop. Price for entry was low and fair for the experience. The schoolhouse they have is a cool step back in time and the current temporary exhibit of "Uncanny Valley" was very intriguing. I hope to see more modern art exhibits like this rotated in so I can make more visits :) read more

Bennington Museum - Masons History - Museums Near Me - Bennington, Vermont

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Really enjoyed my recent visit here. The staff member working at the front desk was friendly and welcoming. It is a small museum with a variety of exhibits, the best by far is the Grandma Moses one. You probably only need about 2 hours here. The gift shop is definitely worth perusing and the building overall is very well maintained. read more

Friendly staff, contemporary and well maintained grounds. Great gift shop. Great location. Easy parking. We'll be back when they reopen for new season read more

Tasteful small museum with unique Grandma Moses collection.battlefield items, historical artifacts and maps, area pottery, collection of artistic and intellectual memorabilia. Well done! read more

Very historical and beautiful. Grandma Moses was a visionary. The battle of Bennington is amazing.there are so many floors but right now I am impressed with grandma Moses.I can't wait to see the rest of the museum. I love the children's room and the gilded age of Vermont room. I could not finish the whole museum but hope to be back sometime . read more

The Bennington Museum is a true gem celebrating the rich history and heritage of Vermont and nearby regions. I can remember visiting the Bennington Museum back in the 1980s to learn more about the Revolutionary War and the Battle of Bennington (took place in 1777 on the Bennington Battlefield just over the border in Walloomsac, NY). Over 20 years later, I recently paid a visit to the Bennington Museum, which is located on the west side of town near the Bennington Monument. Upon entering the museum, the gift shop and small cafe is straight ahead where admission is paid, admission (in 2/10) is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and students over 18, and FREE for students under 18. The gift shop sells souvenirs, postcards, books, artwork prints, apparel Vermont products, snacks, and coffee. This museum showcases collections of fine artwork, artifacts, jewelry (some made of hair), sculptures, pottery, furnishings, toys, and tools on two floors, pertaining to the history and people of Vermont. There are several exhibits here including the Grandma Moses artwork & memorabilia collection and schoolhouse (the actual schoolhouse is located in Eagle Bridge, NY), the Battle of Bennington exhibit, rifle collection, VT furniture, contemporary & American artwork, glass and pottery collection, textiles & flags, and a classic Martin Wasp automobile, There are also changing exhibits including galleries of student artwork and crafts from local area schools. The museum court area on the second floor has shiny hardwood floors and also serves a great place for weddings, rehearsal dinners, and receptions. You can also use your cell phone to listen to a free audio tour for selected exhibits and artwork. Just dial into a 408 number (San Jose, CA based) on your phone and you're all set. The speakers for each audio clip are mostly students from the Mount Anthony Union Free High School in Bennington, who will go into great detail for each specific piece. Overall, this is a great museum to stop at when visiting Southwest Vermont, which is less than an hour drive from the Capital District and the Berkshires. The Bennington Museum is just the right size, allow 1-2 hours time to visit. read more

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This is an eclectic museum which is small and had a variety of exhibits. They had a grandma moses art exhibit, which was of note. They have many known quilts, including a very old famed one. There are many rooms of old objects and curiosities of old Bennington--many crammed into display cases in olden style. In many ways, parts of this museum are old fashioned and quaint. this is actually charming. Overall, the museum is housed in a nice structure. It is easy to get to, off a main commercial street, and there is ample parking. Bennington is not a big town, this is not a big museum, but if you are here, worth a couple of hours to stop in. read more

Bennington Museum - bennington museum - Museums Near Me - Bennington, Vermont

Absolutely lovely! The Grandma Moses wing is worth the visit alone. We learned so much about her. The gift shop is full of wonderful items including many choices of Grandma Moses prints, cards and magnets. The staff was warm and friendly, especially the manager/museum coordinator. read more

THINK GRANDMA MOSES! What a treasure this place is. It is a very well run, organized, & maintained small museum. The best part of the collection is the rooms dedicated to Grandma Moses and her paintings. They don't allow photos, which is sad, but we nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed our visit. They have an excellent staff and gift shop. read more

What a great place to spend a couple of hours! When the weather didn't cooperate for our planned foliage viewing, we decided to stop in, and I'm so glad we did. Although I'd heard of Grandma Moses, I was not at all familiar with her work. They have several rooms devoted to her, and the contrast of her works with other, more contemporary artists was fascinating. Several rooms were devoted to local artists, industries, and history.wish I'd had my grandchildren with me! Well worth a visit when in the Bennington area. read more

THINK GRANDMA MOSES! There is a big the collection that is dedicated to Grandma Moses and her paintings. There is nice statue of President Abraham Lincoln outside the museum. Enjoyed going to the museum. read more

*Spoiler Alert* The best piece of art in the entire museum is called "Happy Naked Princess Leia". The actual name is something dumb like "Nirvana", but you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when you see it. I'm a big fan of museums, and this one is about half the size it should be for the price it charges ($10). The last museum I visited was the Louvre over in Paris France. Paris knows how to make a good museum. Their entry hall could house the entire Bennington museum, thrice, parking lot and all. The price of a ticket there was about $20. For $10, I expect half the quality of the Louvre. It took my wife and I a half hour to check out the entire place (the Bennington Museum, not the Louvre), and we were going through slowly. If the place was half price of what it is now, the museum would go up a full star in my review. The best section was the Revolutionary War room dedicated to the Battle of Bennington (BoB). It's what drew me to this spot in the first place. You can see the guns and other gear soldiers had. I was disappointed that despite reading the wall text, I didn't really know what was going on in the BoB, and the maps were great topographical maps, but random rectangles with no meaning were strewn about to show...I'm not sure. It was interesting, but I wanted far more. That'd get it another star. Other than that, there is a part dedicated to Grandma Moses. Her art is fun if you are into seeing art that is cool just because it is very old. Her ability to make color is neat, but her figure drawing is minimalistic. There is also a lot of pots and glass knickknacks that you'd expect to find in a china cabinet. Two rooms dedicated to those. Other than that....the museum was small. It's a good museum for a small town, but it is way overpriced. And it bothers me that Robert Frost is buried less than 100 yards away from the museum and yet the place makes no mention of him. read more

Well worth the visit! I hadn't been in years but decided to take the opportunity while traveling between southern NH and central NY. Crossing Vermont, we stopped into the museum--what a variety of exhibits! My personal favorite is Grandma Moses--just outstanding. We learned much about Bennington's role in the Revolutionary War, the fabrication of the famous Bennington Pottery and intriguing modern art displays. Thoroughly enjoyable; a true gem! read more

This museum has a collection of furniture, paintings, and firearms, even an antique automobile. I liked the Grandma Moses exhibit that is on display. The museum also has a painting of a sleigh. read more

Great selection of American and modern American art/artifacts. Staff were super friendly-- very clean museum well lit and great presentation. read more

Very cute museum. Went with family a few months ago to see the Stanley Rosen show as he is actually the father of one of our family friends. Found the reptilian quality of one of the sculptures very fascinating and evocative of the artist's individuality. Also the gift shop had some interesting "gifty" items such as old fashioned handbooks and poetry books geared toward children, as well as history of animals and pets of some well-known New England inhabitants. read more

Bennington Museum - Stanley Rosen sculpture as mentioned in review. - Museums Near Me - Bennington, Vermont

The museum can really be divided into two major themes Theme one is the the largest art work on display by Vermont native Grandma Moses .The second theme is Vermont culture/ history which include Bennington pottery, the Battle of Bennington, and an array of historic objects from Vermont. To me the Moses theme had national/ broader appeal while the second theme would be more of interest to VT state residents or history buffs. As for the pros and cons. First the Pros The museum is well laid out and has enough subjects to cover each person's interest. The gift shop has many items which represents the exhibits.Finally, the admission and gift shop staff were polite and helpful. As for the con. Unfortunately,no pictures were allowed in the Grandma Moses Gallery. Understandably, the paintings are copyrighted, but perhaps, in the future maybe photos of one specific painting would be allowed or at least some personable mementos/ art tools could be on display for photos (After all Her exhibit is what draws many tourist to visit this museum). The Grandma Moses School House, I was hoping after visiting the artist's exhibit would be an exhibit representative of an earlier era and contain some family photos or personal belongings. Instead the space 's primary function was a interactive playroom for children ( A great concept for younger visitors but possibly another space might be better utilized for that concept. Finally, while docent tours can be arranged for group visits scheduled tours for individual guests would take the museum up another notch. In summary, the museum is a place to visit and pairing the visit a stop with the nearby Bennington Monument would make a great morning or afternoon trip. read more

Recently,I visited the Bennington Museum and savored its fine collection of paintings by American Primitive Painter,Grandma Moses.Her depictions of the beauty of Vermont and Central New York villages and countryside was a joy to look at.I especially liked her "Mount Nebo in Winter","Sugaring Off","Checkered House",and "Eagle Bridge Hotel".At this fine art museum with a provincial atmosphere,I also appreciated fine oil paintings by American painters;Francis Colburn("Charlie Smith and His Barn",fine Regionalist Art),Daniel Bigelow("Old Bennington"),Arthur Wilder("Calvin Coolidge Birthplace")Rockwell Kent("Alaska Impression"),and Milton Avery("Fall in Vermont").This museum had a fine collection of ceramic jugs produced by United States Pottery and J and E Norton Pottery in the 19th Century. read more

This museum is disappointing. We went mainly to see the Grandma Moses exhibit. We were not allowed to photograph any of it, presumably because management doesn't want to allow outsiders any opportunity to see what a disappointing collection of crap this is. There are about two dozen works by Moses on display in one room. There's a video about Grandma Moses, but the picture and sound quality are awful. We learned little about the artist because the video about her is unwatchable. Many of the museum's Moses pictures are from the artist's declining years. The Moses pictures may be cute, but they are not substantial enough to build a museum around. In other rooms, the museum holds a number of gigantic portraits from the late 19th / early 20th Centuries. Unfortunately, these pictures are scattered here and there in odd corners of various rooms. One of the largest of these, a portrait that is at least 4'x6', hangs in a hallway that is about three feet wide! The museum's portrait collection might be nice, who knows? No one can see it; it is not displayed coherently. Finally, the museum staff is awful. This is the least kid-friendly museum I've seen in a long time. My kids were not touching anything. They were not disrespectful. They were not destructive. They were not disturbing other guests -- there were only two other guests in the building. My children were just kids being kids. I reined them in once or twice when I thought they were getting too exuberant, but that didn't stop the security guard for giving me a bunch of sh-t about my kids. If you have kids, you do not want to bring them here! Children are not welcome! Even if you don't have kids, the Bennington Museum is not worth the gas money. read more