Between errands and overdue books, the Donald Palmer Museum, located in the Springfield Free Public Library, is a respite and retrospective. The museum is accessible from within the library and is open during regular library hours. Its entrance from the front is inviting, covered with posters made by local schoolchildren.
Within, the museum is a large room lined with local history treasures. It's known for the "big wheel," an old-time bicycle with a large front wheel that dwarfs the rear wheel. However, the collection includes a Delft-decorated Franklin stove, Wedgewood in the style of Dolly Madison's White House china, and a Regina Sublima upright music box. The Delft and Delft-influenced home goods are a reminder of the Dutch influence in early New Jersey history.
Museum space is given over to rotating exhibitions. The current show, Paws and Claws, includes sketches and paintings by Andrea Gianchiglia. Her works look closely at the animals in our world, whether playful puppies or dignified tabbies. Gianchiglia's show ends this month.
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May will see the work of Union County Teen Arts at the Palmer, which will be followed by the watercolors of Nina Claire Gallant. The Museum is fully booked until June, 2011.
Likewise, the library is a busy place, with some 112,000 visitors in 2008, the last year for which data is posted. On average, some 340 people visit the library daily. Still, the Palmer Museum is a peaceful place. The spacious room holds a grand piano and a circle of chairs, as it is available and often used for meetings. Lighting is subdued and focused on the art and antiques, offering a welcome look past at our local past.
