(bright music) - [Narrator] Coming up, discover how a single Rembrandt print started one family's journey that led to opening their own museum.

Explore a rich collection of American paintings that rotate through the galleries.

And later, step into a small storefront museum in Providence that's taking a deep dive into local African American history.

This is "Treasures Inside the Museum.

(bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music) Tucked away into a peaceful neighborhood in Duxbury, Massachusetts, is a contemporary wooden structure that for more than 50 years has been home to an extensive collection of art.

The Art Complex Museum started out as one family's personal collection and includes American paintings, Shaker furniture and crafts, Asian arts, and other treasures.

- The focus of the museum is really kind of, I'd say twofold.

It is, first and foremost, was and is the collection of the Carl and Edith Weyerhaeuser family.

The museum was created in 1971 to house their incredible collection of art.

And so we serve that role first and foremost, but we also are the Art Complex, and we're specifically named that way to be a multidisciplinary institution that supports also contemporary art.

So when you come to the Art Complex Museum, not only are you gonna see amazing art, but you're gonna see an amazing building that is also art.

It's a beautiful structure made of wood, which was very important to the Weyerhaeuser family.

So it has incredible vaulted ceiling that undulates like waves, and the original architect was influenced by this being a seacoast town.

And the building is truly a work of art itself.

- [Narrator] Museum founders Carl and Edith Weyerhaeuser are memorialized in two of the many paintings that grace the walls here.

- Ture Bengtz, our first director, was a painter and did portraits.

And he did a picture of, (gentle cello music) Dad loved the cello, and so we have that in here.

And then my mother, he painted a portrait and that's in our Founder's Room.

- [Narrator] Charles served as the museum's director for 50 years, making sure to fulfill his family's vision of sharing their collection with the public, free of charge.

It's a story that's chronicled in the Founder's Room, complete with a timeline and examples from each part of the collection.

It all begins with the very first piece to be acquired.

- This is one of our prized objects in the collection because it came, Carl Weyerhauser, the co-founder, purchased it just out of college.

It's housed in what we call a smart glass case, which was custom-made for the piece so that we could exhibit it all the time.

It protects it from UV, and the screen darkens after about 60 seconds, so the piece is well-protected in this case, and it's one of Rembrandt's prints.

It's called "Descent from the Cross by Torch Light."

And what's unusual about it is the center of interest is in the upper left.

Typically it's in the center of the piece, and it shows Christ being taken down from the cross.

And as you move diagonally across the piece, it shows a long stretcher where his body will be laid.

Carl purchased this piece while he was traveling in Europe.

His parents had offered him a Packard automobile as a graduation gift, and he asked for a cheaper Dodge so that he could use the funds to purchase this Rembrandt print.

It just speaks to his love of rare books and prints, which is what started the collection.

And we wanted to make sure the visitors got to see it, no matter when they came into the museum.

So it wasn't just on exhibit, it was on view all the time.

This is pretty rare.

He did a lot of prints.

I think, you know, he did a lot of paintings, as you know, highly coveted.

About 290 prints in his obra, but it allowed him to have a wider reach.

His paintings certainly were appreciated, but once he started doing printmaking, he could disseminate those works further.

So people got to know his work as an artist.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - [Narrator] A significant amount of the gallery space at the Art Complex Museum is regularly dedicated to their American Paintings Collection.

Different works will cycle through the galleries, giving repeat visitors a unique experience.

(gentle music continues) - We have three gallery spaces, so at any one time there are three different shows, sometimes quite different, in the museum at any one time.

So some people may come specifically to see one artist because they're interested in their work and then they say, "Hey, there's a couple of other cool things here also."

So a particular interest in the show that we have currently here are the George Bellows paintings.

We have four of them, including this very large one, which is somewhat unusual in his work.

They show his techniques, the very thick, heavy oil paintings that he used.

One of the paintings under analysis shows that there are actually some salts in the paint, which we think may be because he painted en plein air, in real life, right with his easel out by the water.

(gentle music continues) Of special interest to the one in the center here is the letter that came to Carl Weyerhaeuser from Emma Bellows, George Bellows' widow.

She is telling Carl that she's so happy that he has acquired this painting and that she has always really loved the painting, loved the look of the bow of the boat like a horse with its neck thrown back ready and raring to go.

So we have that level of intimacy with the collection that's rare.

- [Narrator] The provenance of each piece here has come to the museum in different ways.

Sometimes there are clues hidden in plain sight.

That was the case for this painting.

- The artist is Childe Hassam, and he was from Dorchester, Massachusetts, a very important American impressionist, and he visited the Isles of Shoals every summer around the turn of the century.

This painting was done in 1906, and with a lot of other artists who like to paint the scenery there, this is an image of dusk from the Isle of Shoals.

And it's typical that he would paint ribbons of color and break the ribbons up with a small boat or a vessel, which you see right here.

And one of the really interesting secretive facts about this is it was painted on a cigar box top.

And I will show you that.

So you can see the lid of the box top was what he used as his canvas.

One of the things we do as a curator is research the collection, it's provenance, and confirm authenticity if we can.

And this is an instance where that is easy to do because it was painted by the artist on this little box top.

So the provenance is actually inherent in the painting, which is unusual.

These artists would paint and smoke cigars as a regular habit, so it was a material that was easily accessible, and who knows, he might have run out of canvas for the day and opted to use this sweet little box top.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) - [Narrator] The holdings in the American Painters Collection encompass examples of a number of different genres with a strong focus on American landscapes.

Today, the collection continues to grow, incorporating several contemporary works.

Many noteworthy artists are represented in this gallery as well, including one familiar name with a not-so-familiar painting.

- We have a John Singer Sargent Painting that was acquired by the Weyerhaeusers.

It's an unusual scene for Sargent.

It's not typical of his work at all.

You know, he painted the lovely little girls that the MFA has.

His paintings are just, it's much darker, it's much more realistic in feel.

It's not a posed painting at all.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) It is an interior scene in a chapel that was actually painted during World War I when he was stuck in the Austrian Alps and without a passport and couldn't get out.

And so he had his paints and he walked around in the little town there and painted.

And this is a very unusual John Singer Sargent, and we are very, very pleased to have it in our collection.

- [Narrator] Another significant part of the collection here centers around Asian art and, in particular, ceramics, as is represented in an exhibit in the Founder's Room.

- In this case, you can see a number of examples of pottery traditions.

This case behind me, bookended, are a couple pieces of Bizen.

So those have no glaze put on them.

The different colors is from a natural ash glaze.

The combustible material, the wood, it creates ash that lands on the pot so you can get all these kind of blooming colors and deposits of ash that can sometimes have a lot of texture and dimension.

The piece in the center is by Shimaoka Tatsuzo, who was an artist in the circle of mingei artists.

Another artist in that circle was Hamada Shoji.

We have a piece by his grandson behind me as well, the blue piece, which kind of mimics the shape of a screen, a Japanese screen, that sort of zigzag shape.

We also have a piece by Kawai Kanjiro.

He's another artist who was part of that mingei group, who very influential in promoting the ideas of Japanese ceramics and other craft as great examples of folk art that both are utilitarian and aesthetically beautiful.

(bright music) The piece in front of me is a great example of a highlight in the Japanese ceramics in the collection.

This piece by Kamoda Shoji is a piece that stands out among the rest because of its unique design.

The artist made work that was pretty unlike other Japanese ceramics.

Japanese ceramics in general has really deep roots in tradition, but around this time, artists were embracing the idea of studio ceramics that was kind of spreading globally.

And the idea of breaking away from tradition, I think, was blossoming then, so I think Kamoda's work is a great example of that.

His use of geometry as well as organic shapes, they work harmoniously, and I think that's evident in this piece.

So this piece in front of me, I'd say the reason it is so important is because it's a great example of this area of the collection and, more broadly, Asian art, which is such a key component.

(bright music) (bright music continues) - [Narrator] Other examples of utilitarian art can be found in a gallery featuring Shaker furniture.

- Carl and Edith really loved Shaker furniture.

That interest was passed down by their mother, Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser.

We have a lot of Shaker objects in the collection, Shaker furniture mostly.

We have one really rare clock by Benjamin Young who made the cabinetry and then the clock itself.

It's called the Dwarf Grandfather.

So it's about four feet tall.

It's really charming.

(bright music) (bright music continues) - [Narrator] Two of the more treasured pieces are this table and chair.

- This piece came out of the Chair Factory at Mount Lebanon, but all of the Shaker chairs, whether they're rockers or stationary chairs, had different elements that could be attributed to the communities.

The finials right here, we have the mushroom handles on the rocker.

So those were ways of telling where something came from.

Shakers were making these objects as a form of warship, but they also became were really beautiful objects in and of themselves, and finely made.

The joints were very specialized, and there's just a lot of beauty in the simplicity of their design as well.

These two pieces, the chair especially is rare, because it's a signed piece.

Shakers didn't typically sign their work.

It was thought of as a form of worship to make furniture, and it was highly anonymous, so it's rare to have a chair like this one that is attributed to the two chair makers, Lillian Barlow and William Perkins.

And it also has an inscription on the back because it was a gift for somebody.

So the inscription says: "To Ella Bruce Malcolm 1924 Second Family Shakers Mount Lebanon, New York."

and the woodworkers were Lillian Barlow and William Perkins.

And that's pretty rare to have any documentation right on the object.

(bright music continues) The table is from about the same time period, a little bit later.

This has what they called spider legs or umbrella legs, and it's made of cherry wood.

And the reason that this piece is rare is the top is square.

Most candle stands, which is what they were called, had circular tops, and they were used at the bedside or they're so light that you could move them around.

So Shakers would often use them to complete different tasks.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] All of the collections at the Art Complex Museum continue to grow as they acquire additional works that align with the intentions of the founders.

They also maintain a gallery space dedicated to showing the works of present-day artists.

(gentle music continues) - This is the Phoenix Gallery, and behind me is the work of an artist, Nancy Hayes, who's from the south coast of Massachusetts in Padanaram, or South Dartmouth.

We have, I think, about three or four shows a year in this space in particular, (gentle music continues) - [Julia] We change the objects here periodically.

It's mostly to mimic what happened in the Weyerhaeuser home, where they had these pieces on view all the time.

- Carl clearly had a very eclectic taste in art and wasn't bound by one particular genre.

And it seems like he spent time focusing on those different areas, but then would maybe exhaust that kind of interest, to a certain degree.

It wouldn't go away, I don't think, but a new interest would pop up, and then he would be compelled to pursue that.

(gentle music continues) (bright music) (bright music) - [Narrator] In the heart of downtown Providence is a small museum with a big story to tell.

The Stages of Freedom Heritage Museum has a mission of promoting African American history.

Robb Dimmick is one of the co-founders.

- The idea of a museum became important because it provided opportunities to place objects and stories within a central location.

The work that we've been doing and continue to do is actually creating a museum that has no walls.

- So this is important that we do this, both the positive, the negative of slavery and 100 other things.

- I think it's really important that people understand that Black history is not a separate history, and it's important that Ray and I, as a Black man and a white man, have come together to do this work because it is a shared history.

White people can't separate themselves from the history, sadly, because they are entrenched in what we know as enslaving people, enslaving Africans.

And Rhode Island is ground zero for slavery.

And this museum points, in many ways, to that story.

- [Narrator] The museum is an eclectic collection of books, historical artwork, artifacts, and exhibits that enlighten and illuminate African American culture.

One such artifact might be overlooked until you hear the story behind it.

- This is a fascinating object.

It was built by African Americans on a plantation called Clay Bank in Virginia, and it was apparently during the time when the white owners of the plantation were off as Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and it was built for white children to sit in.

What's fascinating about many of these objects is that it has migrated from Virginia to South County, Rhode Island.

It belonged to the (indistinct) family and has been donated to our museum.

It's a very actually special and rather precious object because of its association with African American handicraft and the fact that it has survived and that the story survives with it.

Most people would describe it as sort of a crude piece of furniture, but it's actually quite delicate when you look at the caning of the seat.

The fact that the paint, by and large, is still intact, it is a sort of beigeous gray color, that the seat is still intact with only a small crack at the front of it.

It becomes a really lovely object and a tangible evidence of African American ingenuity and craft.

There were no blueprints for this chair.

It was simply made by the genius of whatever enslaved person built this, we would assume a male.

(gentle music) It's possible that the caning of the seat was done by a woman.

We don't know, but we do know that it was crafted by African American hands.

(gentle music continues) - [Narrator] While we may never know who made this chair, other exhibits are about the people, including this woman, whose voice took her far from home in Providence, - Sissieretta Jones is the most successful Black performer up to her time, 1916, in America.

She tours in Europe and the Caribbean.

Maybe the first Black performer to do that.

She's successful.

She has 40 employees in her troupe.

She owns a train because Black people cannot stay in hotels, and they can't eat in most restaurants, and so they go into town and figure out where to get their dinner catered and they eat on the train.

She was a Civil Rights person.

She is the one who integrated opera houses and the like all over the country.

And she performs at the White House five times.

She performed for a year or so, white audiences only, and she said, this is absurd that Black people can't see me, hear me.

And she told some place in Alabama, "I'm not coming."

And tore up the contract.

And they said, "Okay, we'll let Black folks sit in the balcony."

She's the one who did that.

(bright music) - [Narrator] While the Sissieretta Jones exhibit is quite extensive, a single painting in the collection focuses on another local woman who found her way into a different kind of spotlight.

- This is Becky Howard, born as Rebecca Howard, and she was born where the Memorial Gate on Fair Street is that enters Brown's Lower Green.

We believe that Becky Howard is 13 in this portrait and more than likely worked in some capacity at the Providence Art Club, where she was encountered by Charles Stetson.

Stetson, a co-founder of the Art Club, was a dear friend of Edward Mitchell Bannister.

This portrait, which believe it or not, is documented in a diary that Stetson kept, which was published in the small printing by a university press in which he talks about encountering her and wishing to paint her and wanting her to slip into a purple gown, which she declined.

She didn't think that was a proper thing to do, and more than likely, she and he were alone at that time.

So to change behind a dressing screen in front of a white man, verboten.

And so it becomes what he calls a sketch.

We think it's a little more than a sketch.

It's really a lovely portrait.

And as you move through our museum, you will see what we call negative black images, which populated white homes largely in the kitchen.

And so to have this beautiful, graceful, elegant image of a young Black woman is exceptional.

(gentle music continues) - [Narrator] Mixed in with the artwork and artifacts here is a collection of books, including a very old and rare work written by Robert Roberts, an African American man working for the governor of Massachusetts.

- This is an early cookbook by a Black person, and that he put it together and that he got it printed, and that there might be 500 copies, it's a rarity.

- But this book goes way beyond recipes.

It offers insight into work practices and African American culture around the beginning of the 19th century, - It's called the first Black cookbook commercially done, and we have to stress commercially done, because all kinds of Black folks kept notes, and you can find five pages of recipes from, remember, the Black folks are in the kitchen cooking and on the plantations in the south, where 80% of black people lived, almost all the cooks and chefs are Black.

So every once in a while, a page will surface that they can attribute to somebody Black.

But this is the first cookbook.

He kept notes for 20 years.

He knew what he was doing.

And this isn't really a cookbook, it's a directory.

How to set the table, how to stand.

He suggests what clothes you should wear.

This is a servant's cookbook.

(bright music) - [Narrator] The book, like The Stages of Freedom Heritage Museum, is a hidden gem waiting to be explored.

(bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (bright music) (bright music) (bright music) - [Announcer] This program and other episodes of "Treasures Inside the Museum," as well as digital extras, are now available to watch anytime by visiting rhodeislandpbs.org or the Rhode Island PBS YouTube channel.

Take a private tour with exhibit curators, get an inside look at the conservation process and go behind the scenes to see hidden treasures.

Whether you are interested in artifacts, paintings, photography, architecture, or history, you'll be inspired to learn more.