Anything but Simple: Shaker Gift Drawings and the Women Who Made Them

Polly Jane Reed, <i>A Type of Mother Hanna's Pocket Handkerchief</i>, 1851, Ink and watercolor on paper, 23 5/8 x 26 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
 Polly Jane Reed, A Type of Mother Hanna's Pocket Handkerchief, 1851, Ink and watercolor on paper, 23 5/8 x 26 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA,
Hannah Cohoon, <i>The Tree of Life</i>, 1854, Ink and watercolor on paper, 18 1/8 x 23 5/16 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
 Hannah Cohoon, The Tree of Life, 1854, Ink and watercolor on paper, 18 1/8 x 23 5/16 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA,
Polly Collins,<i> A Gift from Mother Ann to the Elders of the North Family </i>, 1854, Ink and watercolor on paper, 26 3/4 x 19 1/5 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
 Polly Collins, A Gift from Mother Ann to the Elders of the North Family , 1854, Ink and watercolor on paper, 26 3/4 x 19 1/5 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA,
Polly Jane Reed, <i>A Present from Mother Lucy to Eliza Ann Taylor</i>, 1849, Ink and watercolor on paper, 21 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA
 Polly Jane Reed, A Present from Mother Lucy to Eliza Ann Taylor, 1849, Ink and watercolor on paper, 21 3/4 x 23 3/4 inches, Collection of Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA,
Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA, Photo: Michael Fredericks
 Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA, Photo: Michael Fredericks,

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Anything but Simple: Shaker Gift Drawings and the Women Who Made Them

M. Stephen and Miriam R. Miller Shaker Gallery

Organized by Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA, Anything but Simple: Shaker Gift Drawings and the Women Who Made Them features rare Shaker “gift” or “spirit” drawings, all created between 1843–57. Colorful, decorative, and complex, these drawings are unique to the Shakers and to American religious culture as a whole. Even more unique, each of the drawings was created by a woman. Read more.

Artists

Polly Jane Reed
Miranda Barber
Sarah Bates
Semantha Fairbanks
Mary Wicks
Polly Collins
Hannah Cohoon

Related Programs

In lieu of our traditional exhibition opening reception, we are pleased to present a short virtual remark from NBMAA Director and CEO Min Jung Kim and Hancock Shaker Village Director Jennifer Trainer Thompson. The video will launch on the NBMAA's Youtube platform on Thursday, August 6, 5:30 p.m. Watch now.

In partnership with Hancock Shaker Village, we are pleased to present a live Zoom video chat. Joseph Manca, author of Shaker Vision: Seeing Beauty in Early America (2019), joins curator on Thursday, June 18 at 5:30 p.m.

November 18, 1-1:45 p.m. - Virtual Gallery Talk led by Sharon Duane Koomler, independent curator and author, Seen & Received: The Shakers' Private Art. Preregister. 

Sponsors:

Anything but Simple: Shaker Gift Drawings and the Women Who Made Them is part of 2020/20+ Women @ NBMAA presented by Stanley Black & Decker with additional support provided by Bank of America.

In New Britain, the exhibition is supported by the Shaker Gallery Fund and the Bailey Family Fund for Special Exhibitions.

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