Collections of Collections: Alice T. Miner and Electra Havemeyer Webb

Electra Havemeyer Webb, in 1947, founded the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. A “collection of collections,” the museum brought together examples of art, architecture, and even local trees, all showcasing Webb’s interest in objects that can educate and illuminate American life and culture. On the other side of Lake Champlain, Alice T. Miner, with her husband, created the Alice T. Miner Museum in 1924. Her collection focused on the Colonial Revival, though, in a sense, this, too, is a “collection of collections.” The character of their museums reflects on their individual personalities and circumstances, but the fact of the collections speaks to the time period and to the ways in which women have seen and understood American culture. This article explores what these collections tell us about the women who created them and about the ways in which race, gender, and class intersect in the inclusion and exclusion of objects and images. Whether the steamship Ticonderoga or the top of a crazy quilt made be Lena Olena Blow of Sciota, NY, in 1908, the objects chosen by Webb and Miner (respectively) tell a story, one that is reinforced by their presentation within the museums. Through examining the provenance and presentation of specific objects, this essay will consider the wider themes, including the relative invisibility of women, craftspeople, and people of color, considered through the two museums. Of particular interest will be the women themselves and their intentions in creating museums that have long outlived them. Were they aware of the significance of their work? Did they strive to include objects and images that illustrated race, gender, and class, as understood or misunderstood by the America of their times? Have the curators and directors that followed them changed the tenor of the museums in order to address those questions more fully?