Worcester Art Museum Postcard

I bought this old Worcester Art Museum postcard at an antique store here in Tucson. Such things raise questions about circulation and the paths things take. This postcard was sent to Troy, NY from Worcester, MA in 1936. So what's it doing in Tucson, AZ in 2009? Maybe the mystery of this object's life is part of its appeal.

When I was an undergraduate at Assumption College in Worcester, my students ID got me into the art museum for free. It's really a very good museum and some of the exhibits that come through are first rate. The museum is bigger now than it looks on this postcard.

The back of the postcard includes a brief description of the museum: "Founded by Stephen Salisbury, 1896 for benefit of all the people in the City of Worcester. The Museum is on Salisbury Street. Contains galleries of paintings and sculpture, together with collections of various objects of art. Special exhibits are in progress in one or more of the galleries."



This is the back of the postcard. Apparently Mrs. Hegemen (the name's a bit tricky to read) was visiting her sister in Worcester. She writes to Mrs. Freda Steinquist. She writes, "Here at my sister's enjoying myself. Keep well until I get home from Worcester. Here (sic) from me soon with love. Mrs. Hegemen."

I tried to do a little research to see if I could find anything about the people. All I could gather is that Freda Stenquist lived in Troy, New York at some point, but she passed away in Cook, Illinois in 1966.