New-England Museum (Boston) facts for kids
The New-England Museum was a popular place in Boston, Massachusetts, that opened around 1818. It was started by Ethan A. Greenwood and his partners. This museum was like a mix of an art gallery, a natural history museum, and a wax museum all in one! You could see beautiful paintings, amazing animals, and lifelike wax figures. Live bands often played music there for visitors. The museum was located on Court Street in Boston.
How the Museum Started
Around 1818, Ethan A. Greenwood bought a large art collection called the "New York Museum" from an artist named Edward Savage. This purchase helped him create the New-England Museum. The art collection included famous paintings like a portrait of George Washington and his family, which is now in the National Gallery of Art. It also had portraits of important people like Henry Knox and Robert Morris.
Greenwood kept adding to the museum's collections. In 1821, he bought items from John Mix's collection. This included many wax figures that looked like real people, along with animals, birds, fish, and even 20,000 different kinds of insects! There were also three fine organs. In 1822, Greenwood added items from Philip Wood's Market Museum. He also bought the collection from William Doyle's Columbian Museum in 1825. Later, the museum also got items from Boston's Linnaean Society, which focused on nature.
Sadly, the museum faced money problems in the late 1830s and had to close. Around 1839, the museum's collections were sold to Moses Kimball. He then used them to start a new place called the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts.
Cool Things to See and Do
The New-England Museum often had exciting new displays and events for visitors. Here are some of the interesting things that happened there:
- 1818
- September: Visitors could see a "sea serpent" that was caught by a captain. There was also a large sunfish, a live alligator, and two small live turtles from Ascension Island.
- November: A "wonderful dwarf" who was 9 years old and weighed only 16 pounds was on display.
- Thanksgiving evening: The museum had a special "illumination" (lights) and music. A large room with new wax figures was opened that night.
- 1819
- February: The 16-pound "wonderful dwarf," now 10 years old, was still there.
- May: Many new and interesting items were added. These included a very fashionable "dandy" (a man dressed in the latest style) and a beautiful "modern fine lady" added to the wax figure rooms.
- August: A musician named Signior Hellene performed. He could play the Italian violi (a type of violin), Pandean pipes, Chinese bells, Turkish cymbals, and a tenor drum all at the same time! He could even make sounds like a mockingbird with his mouth.
"A vast deal of Rational Amusement for very little money."
- 1820
- December: The museum became much bigger! It added a large, tall hall that was 70 feet long and 36 feet wide. This new space was decorated in a very nice way.
- December: Ten new wax figures were added. These included Caroline, Queen of England, Lady Hamilton, and Bergami.
- 1822
- The museum announced that it had added another entire museum's collection. This meant it was now a "grand consolidation of 4 museums united in one."
- 1824
- November: A painting by John Ritto Penniman called The Conflagration of the Exchange Coffee House was put on display. This painting showed a big fire at a famous building.
- December 25: On Christmas Day, the museum was open all day and lit up in the evening. It was also decorated with evergreens for the holiday.
Images for kids
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The Conflagration of the Exchange Coffee House by J.R. Penniman, 1824
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The Washington Family by Edward Savage, a painting once owned by the museum
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An advertisement for the museum from 1832
