EXHIBITIONS

Dodge Macknight currently on exhibit

Our exhibit features twelve watercolor paintings and one oil painting. The works span his career, from his time in France through his New England years to 1923. This exhibit illustrates his initial tenuous exploration of a bright and loose color palette to the bold, bright assertive color palette and confident landscapes that made him famous in the 1920s, establishing him as a leader of American modernism in the time of Post-Impression.

Passing Away: 19th Century Mourning Traditions currently on exhibit

This exhibit explores the many facets of the mourning period with its customs and traditions. The mourning period was a way of handling a part of life we are reluctant to acknowledge now. Today, social pressure is less favorable to public displays of grief. Then, there was social pressure to make grief public. If anyone didn’t mourn, it was taken as a lack of respect.

Cape Cod’s Glass Legacy currently on exhibit

Pattern glass of the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company

This exhibit highlights the intricate, 19th-century lacy and pressed glass patterns produced between 1825 and 1888 at the Sandwich Glass factory on Cape Cod. It showcases several iconic 19th century pressed glass patterns – including Princess Feather, Dewdrop, Thistle, Thumbprint, Dahlia and more. Founder Deming Jarvis perfected the pressed glass machine technique which would make the technical jump from hand-blown glass to mold pressed glass affording intricate pattern designs to mass produced pieces.

Trains & Trains currently on exhibit

The exhibit presents two types of Trains: Trains on dresses and Toy Trains, specifically Lionel Trains.

These train types have two things in common. Both types are non-functional. They really serve no purpose. Dresses with trains are not practical, except to clean the floor! Toy trains have no function either. They are toys and can be played with, but they don’t really have a purpose either. So, these are two things that are impractical and sometimes excessive. The word train means to drag which is something they have in common.

F.G. Kelley's Centerville currently on exhibit

This exhibit focuses on the 19th century Centerville and one individual who played a significant role in its development.

Hollywood comes to Centerville currently on exhibit

Hollywood comes to Centerville tells the story of the Kalmus family who summer in Centerville for several decades bringing many of their Hollywood friends with them. Herbert Kalmus intrigued with filmmaking and the color motion picture process developed the first successful color film which led to the incorporation of the Technicolor motion Picture Corporation. Dr. Kalmus purchased a ‘gentleman’s estate’ in Centerville and gave it the name, "Fernbrook." He and his first wife, Natalie, hosted many celebrities at the estate including Clark Gable, Cecil B. DeMille, Walt Disney, Gloria Swanson and Audrey Hepburn.

Filmed on Cape Cod currently on exhibit

Movies Filmed on Cape Cod highlights ten Hollywood movies filmed in several towns around Cape Cod. The first being the 1903 silent film “Rip Van Winkle” filmed in Bourne to the 2016 film The Finest Hour filmed in part in Chatham.

Colonial America currently on exhibit

This exhibit focuses on the colonial kitchen and the many tasks that were performed there on a daily basis which were necessary to the well-being of the entire household.

18th & 19th Century Small Armaments currently on exhibit

This exhibit examines the technological changes of small armaments between 1780 and 1875, using rifles, swords, daggers and bullets from the museum collection.

It's all about Paisley currently on exhibit

In this new exhibit at the museum are intriguing examples of a very old yet thoroughly modern textile design pattern known as Paisley. On display are bedspreads, table covers, scarves, jackets, housecoats, shawls and more, all in a variety of Paisley colors and patterns and dating from the early 19th century to the early 20th century.

Battles; Spies; Cooties The Great War currently on exhibit

2018 was the hundredth anniversary of the United States’ involvement in the Great War. Centerville Museum examines the major battles, the development of espionage, the changes in the technology of warfare and the personal accounts of World War One veterans.

Shipwrecks Mystery - Murder - Misery currently on exhibit

The CHM’s exhibit Shipwrecks tells the story of five prominent sea disasters, utilizing newspaper accounts, log books, historical photographs, paintings, personal letters and marine artifacts. We relate the drama and uncertainty associated with the sea and the unforgiving environment in which ships were forced to travel and the unparalleled sacrifice and heroism of the people who lived here to save them.

Exhibit videos past and present