MASSACHUSETTS

Magazine Antiques, April, 2000

ARLINGTON: Old Schwamb Mill, 17 Mill Lane at 29 Lowell St. Exhibits the evolution of a mid-1600's water powered grist and sawmill site over 350 years as the now longest continuously operating industrial site in the New World. Unique collection of beltdriven 19th century machinery in use in making museum-quality oval and circular picture and mirror frames. Open weekdays year-round 10-2 and other times by appointment. (781) 643-0554 or (888) 295-4566. email: oldschwambmil@aol.com. website: www.oldschwambmill.org

BOSTON: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, 02115. Built by Isabella Stewart Gardner in the style of a 15th-century Venetian palace, the Museum houses 2,500 art objects, among them works by Titian, Raphael, Botticelli, Rembrandt, and Matisse. Three floors of galleries overlook a central courtyard of flowering plants, trees, and sculpture. Tues-Sun, 11-5. (617) 5661401, fax (617) 232-8039.

BOSTON: Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Avenue, 02115. One of the great art museums of the world, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was founded in 1870 and opened to the public in 1876. The MFA houses more than 500,000 objects including some of the world's greatest collections of Amencan paintings, English and French silver, prints and drawings, 19th century French paintings, Egyptian Old Kingdom art, Amencan decorative arts and Asian art. The Museum also hosts a variety of special exhibitions, lectures, concerts and films, as well as an array of fun and educational activities for families. For more information, call (617) 267-9300 or visit our website--www.mfa.org

CAPE COD: Heritage Plantation of Sandwich, Pine and Grove Sts,, Sandwich. Americana museum and gardens, on 76 acres featuring art, automobile and military museums. This season's premier exhibition located in the Art Museum is entitled It's About Time: The History of Timekeeping in America. The show explores all methods of timekeeping in North America from prehistoric times through the present as well as what we may expect for timekeeping in the future. Another new exhibit entitled Mustache Cups, Timeless Victorian Treasures is also located there. Art on the Road: The Art of the Automotive Fine Arts Society is the featured show in the Automobile Museum. The Boxer Rebellion: China 1900, the Artists' Perspective is the new exhibit in the Military Museum. The show features over 50 paintings, prints and drawings plus several original photographs of the conflict. A catalogue is available for sale during the exhibit. Fact and Fiction on the Frontier is also located there, Outdoor cafe, shuttle bus, museum store and garden shop, windmill, concerts in season, lectures and workshops, Open May 14 - Oct 22, 10-5, seven days a week. (508) 888-3300. Visit our website at: www.heritageplantation.org

CONCORD: Concord Museum, 200 Lexington Road, 01742. Where Concord's History Begins-documented Concord l7th-l9th century furniture, silver and clocks; Revolutionary War artifacts; Thoreau possessions from Walden; period rooms; Why Concord? exhibition; and "Exploring Concord" film. Through August 13th: Treasures from the Boston Athenaeum Fine Arts Collection. Museum shop; holiday events; group tours; collection catalog. Jan-Mar: Mon-Sat 11-4, Sun 1-4; Apr-Dec: Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 12-5. (978) 3699609; ww'w.concordmuseum.org

DEERFIELD: Historic Deerfield: The Street, Box 321, 01342. Within The Old Deerfield National Historic Landmark, a 330 year old, mile-long village with 50 carefully preserved 18th and 19th century houses on their original sites. Fourteen are open every day as museums, displaying furniture and decorative arts of the Connecticut River Valley and early New England. The new 27,000 square foot Flynt Center of Early New England Life features the exhibition "Pursuing Refinement in Rural New England, 1750-1850" and The Museum's Attic: 2500 Antiques from the Historic Deerfield Collections. April 15 - Decorative Arts Forum Stimulating Beverages: The Social History of Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate; June 10 - History Forum Women and the Colonial Tavern; October 21 - Decorative Arts Seminar Fakes and Forgeries; November 3-4 The Deerfield/Wellesley Symposium on the History of American Culture The Pursuit of Refinement in America; November 10-12 - Forum Treasure Houses: Masterpieces in American Museums. The 1884 Deerfield Inn w ith 23 guest rooms open for dining and lodging throughout the year. Reservations: 413-774-5587. Deerfield is 2 hours west of Boston, 3 hours north of New York City. Group tours welcome daily. For brochures and information: (413) 774-5581. Visit our website at: www.historic-deerfield.org

DEERFIELD: Memorial Hall Museum, 8 Memorial St., 01342. Displayed in the Old Deerfield Academy Building (1798) are a wide variety of curious and beautiful American antiques, quilts, native American artifacts, furniture, dolls, toys, tools, portraits, and pewter. Home of the famed Old Indian House Door (1704), the Museum's 2000 special exhibits are The Farmed Landscape: Fuller Paintings and The Farmed Landscape: Frances & Mary Allen Photographs. Open daily 9:304:30, May-October. (413) 774-3768, ext.2; fax (413) 774-5400; www.deerfield-ma.org