Walking the Lincoln Trail

Celebrate the bicentennial of our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, born February 12, 1809, by following the Lincoln Trail in the Berkshires this summer.

Organized by Chesterwood, where sculptor Daniel Chester French created the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial, the “trail” connects fourteen historic and cultural sites, each presenting special exhibits, talks, and performances relating to the American icon.

In Pittsfield, memorabilia including military paperwork signed by Lincoln is on view at the Berkshire Athenaeum and the Berkshire Historical Society at Arrowhead.

The Berkshire Museum will display objects related to Lincoln during July and August, including a Lincoln life mask by sculptor Leonard W. Volk in 1860; a letter from Mary Todd Lincoln; and the April 16, 1865, front page of the New York Herald, reporting Lincoln’s assassination.

In Stockbridge, take a self-guided tour, Discover Lincoln at Chesterwood, to see Daniel Chester French’s preliminary models for the Lincoln Memorial and other Lincoln-related works. A full-size bronze reproduction of French’s Standing Lincoln statue is also on the grounds.

At the Norman Rockwell Museum, two of Rockwell’s tributes to Lincoln, The Law Student and Lincoln for the Defense, are on view July 4 through September 7. The first-floor side parlor of the Red Lion Inn presents the Lincoln Table from the Union League Club in New York City (at which Lincoln is said to have dined) and a steel engraving of the famed president.

At the Stockbridge Library Archives & Museum, two sculptures—a half-size bronze reproduction of French’s Standing Lincoln and a model of French’s first version of the Seated Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial—are on view. A life-size bust of Abraham Lincoln by Volk is on display at the West Stockbridge Public Library.

In Williamstown, tour a special installation of photographs, prints, and rare books at The Clark; Lincoln to the Nth Degree, an anthology of images and text drawn from the Williams College Archives and the Chapin Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts, is on view at the Williams College Museum of Art through June 28.

    At the Lee Library, a platinum enlargement of an 1860 photograph of Lincoln is on display, framed with oak floor boards taken from Lincoln’s Springfield, Illinois, home, and in Lenox, at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum, read a copy of a letter written in 1861 from Civil War hero Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who led the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, describing his personal meeting with Lincoln.

    Author Anita Sanchez will speak about her book, Mr. Lincoln’s Chair: The Shakers and Their Quest for Peace at Hancock Shaker Village on Saturday, July 11, at 2 p.m. And in oratory tribute, Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait will be performed during Tanglewood on Parade, Tuesday, July 28, at 8:30 p.m.

See it all mapped out at www.lincolntrailintheberkshires.com. (JUNE 2009)

THE GOODS

Berkshire Athenaeum
1 Wendell Ave.
Pittsfield, Mass.
413.499.9480
www.pittsfieldlibrary.org
 
Berkshire Historical Society at Arrowhead
780 Holmes Rd.
Pittsfield, Mass.
413.442.1793
www.berkshirehistory.org

Berkshire Museum
39 South St./Route 7
Pittsfield, Mass.
413.443.7171
www.berkshiremuseum.org

Chesterwood
4 Williamsville Rd.
Stockbridge, Mass.
413.298.3579
www.chesterwood.org

The Clark
225 South St.
Williamstown, Mass.
413.458.2303
www.clarkart.edu

Hancock Shaker Village
Route 20
Pittsfield, Mass.
413.443.0188
www.hancockshakervillage.org

Lee Library
100 Main St.
Lee, Mass.
413.243.0385
www.leelibrary.org

Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Glendale Rd./Route 183
Stockbridge, Mass.
413.298.4100
www.nrm.org

Red Lion Inn
30 Main St.
Stockbridge, Mass.
413.298.5545
www.redlioninn.com

Stockbridge Library Archives & Museum
Main and Elm streets
Stockbridge, Mass.
413.298.5501
www.stockbridgelibrary.org

Tanglewood
Route 183
Lenox, Mass.
413.637.5165
www.tanglewood.org

Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum
104 Walker St.
Lenox, Mass.
413.637.3206
www.gildedage.org

West Stockbridge Public Library
21 State Line Rd.
West Stockbridge, Mass.
413.232.0300 x308
www.wspl.blogspot.com

Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Dr.
Williamstown, Mass.
413.597.2429
www.wcma.org