Back Bay to the Berkshires: Celebrating 250 years of Art in Massachusetts
September-November 2025
Massachusetts has long been a center for art, education, and publishing. The first printing press in the American colonies was established in the Bay State, setting in motion centuries of publishing innovation, most notably in the reproduction of images through photogravure and color printing.
The region also became an important hub for arts education. The Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870 made drawing a required subject in public schools, leading to the 1873 founding of the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston (now the Massachusetts College of Art and Design) to train drawing instructors. In 1876, the School of Drawing and Painting was established within the newly formed Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Soon after, the South End Industrial School was also founded in the city, providing young people with practical training in the arts and related trades.
Many talented artists hail from Massachusetts, either by birth or by training, bolstered by the educational and technical resources of the Commonwealth. The books displayed here represent a fraction of the artistic styles and techniques honed in Massachusetts over two and a half centuries.
Back Bay to the Berkshires: Celebrating 250 years of Art in Massachusetts
September-November 2025
Massachusetts has long been a center for art, education, and publishing. The first printing press in the American colonies was established in the Bay State, setting in motion centuries of publishing innovation, most notably in the reproduction of images through photogravure and color printing.
The region also became an important hub for arts education. The Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870 made drawing a required subject in public schools, leading to the 1873 founding of the Massachusetts Normal Art School in Boston (now the Massachusetts College of Art and Design) to train drawing instructors. In 1876, the School of Drawing and Painting was established within the newly formed Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Soon after, the South End Industrial School was also founded in the city, providing young people with practical training in the arts and related trades.
Many talented artists hail from Massachusetts, either by birth or by training, bolstered by the educational and technical resources of the Commonwealth. The books displayed here represent a fraction of the artistic styles and techniques honed in Massachusetts over two and a half centuries.