The Berkshires, Massachusetts

After flying non-stop on Delta from Minneapolis to Bradley International Airport (BDL), your host Wendy DePaolis will lead the group to the Michelle & Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. This 1933 Art Deco building in a lovely garden setting holds a comprehensive selection of art in many media, including The Currier & Ives collection, one of the largest holdings of lithographs in the nation. After then traveling to your hotel, you’ll gather together for dinner to continue getting to know your fellow travelers.

Start your day by acknowledging Indigenous People’s Day on the Native American Interpretive Trail at the historic Bidwell House. From there you’ll spend some time enjoying the Norman Rockwell Museum before heading to the Hancock Shaker Village. Learn at this living history museum about the former Shaker commune founded here in the late 1700s and how the population supported themselves for over 200 years primarily by farming.

The intersection of art and nature truly comes alive at Frederic Church’s home “Olana,” set high on a hill in New York state with sweeping views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. One of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting, Frederic Edwin Church built this house in the 1870’s and added his last studio in the 1880’s. A riotous combination of Victorian, Persian and Moorish styles, it is a sight to behold. You’ll then have free time in the charming town of Hudson, NY before heading to Art Omi. This international arts center includes, among other exhibits, a 120-acre Sculpture and Architecture Park.

Heading north to Williamstown, MA, the day will begin with a visit to Field Farm, where, in addition to an unparalleled view of Mt. Greylock, Massachusett's highest peak, you’ll find another sculpture garden (smaller than yesterday’s). From there you’ll travel to the Clark Art Institute, one of a trio of art museums that helped establish the cultural reputation of the Berkshires. Also a research institution, its collection spans the 14th to the early 20th centuries. Next door is the Williams College Museum of Art. The Clark was created in association with the college and the two organizations continue to work together today. From the directors of the museum teaching at the college to the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art founded in conjunction with the museum, the two are inexorably intertwined. Your day will end at the Frelinghuysen Morris House. Home to American Abstract Artists George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen, it is unchanged from the couples’ lifetimes, still housing art from Picasso, Miró, Matisse and others. At an included dinner this evening, exchange thoughts with your fellow travelers about the art you encountered today.

Your last full day in the Berkshires begins at MASS MoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the country. Started by the Williams College Museum of Art, which was looking for a space to display large works of modern and contemporary art, it has been transformed into an international art collaborative. On a smaller scale, you will then visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The author of the 1969 classic “A Very Hungry Caterpillar” founded this museum, the first in the United States devoted to this subject. After a stop at the Botanic Garden of Smith College, your day will end with a Farewell Dinner, where you can reminisce with your new friends about all the art and nature you’ve enjoyed in the northeast this past week.

After breakfast, Wendy DePaolis and travelers will return to the Bradley International Airport (BDL) for the flight back to Minneapolis. This concludes the Arboretum tour.