Masterworks exhibits US Presidential visits

MONDAY, MAR. 5: The Lion and the Mouse is how local filmmaker Lucinda Spurling described Bermuda’s relationship with America in a recent film of the same name.

From saving the colonialists of Jamestown, Virginia to robbing the British of gunpowder and smuggling it out to George Washington’s revolutionary army, Bermuda has often defied its small stature to the benefit its gargantuan neighbour.

A new exhibition at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art celebrates this long-lived relationship through 26 historical photographs of US Presidents in Bermuda and Bermuda’s Premiers in the US.

Between Friends: 62 Years of Bermudian-American Diplomatic Relations was the brainchild of US Consulate General Grace Shelton who, throughout her tenure, has worked hard to nurture relations between the two countries.

The exhibition, which forms part of the museum’s 25th anniversary celebrations, includes a photo of President Harry S. Truman in 1946 when he became the first US President to land in Bermuda while in office (pictured).

Also on display is a photo of President John F. Kennedy accepting a gift from the then Governor of Bermuda — Major General Sir Julian Gascoigne at Government House, and a photo of former US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on vacation here in 2009.

The Museum of Art’s founder and director Tom Butterfield told The Guide: “These photographs have never been shown as a group before, you might have seen them at one or two other places but they are out of the public domain.

“If you go to (former Premier) John Swan’s office for instance, you may see one of him grip and grinning with President Regan or you might see another at the US Consulate.

“I think it will bring in a diverse group of people to the museum,”

The exhibition opened on March 2 at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art’s Rick Faries Gallery and runs until March 14.

The show is just one of many events aimed at celebrating Masterwork’s 25th anniversary. The main exhibition, A Rock and an Ocean, displays some of the gallery’s most important works of Bermuda-inspired art including pieces by Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe and Marsden Hartley.  

Other things to look forward to throughout the year include the Philatelic Stamp Exhibit in April featuring stamps from Queen Elizabeth’s personal collection and an exhibition of original John Lennon Lithographs from June 21 to July 4.

Masterworks is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sundays from 11am to 4:30pm. Closed most public holidays. General admission is $5. Masterworks is located in the Bermuda Botanical Gardens, Paget. Call 441-236-2950 or visit www.bermudamasterworks.com for details.