Often referred to as “the oldest public art gallery in the United States,” the St. Johnsbury Athanaeum is a trip into a 19th century world of art and learning. The elegant 1887 French Second Empire-style building house a public library and art gallery. Marble statues perch atop pedestals. Paintings hang in gilded frames in salon style. The children’s room has murals painted in 1934 by Marjorie Lang. While there is no contemporary art, the Athanaeum’s extensive collection of European and early American art no doubt inspired resident and visiting artists in the Northeast Kingdom throughout the 20th century.

St. Johnsbury Athanaeum Art Gallery
1171 Main Street (US Route 2), St. Johnsbury 05819
(802) 748-8291
WEBSITE

The Athanaeum is open Monday-Friday, 10AM-5:30PM and Saturday, 9:30AM-5PM. Closed Sunday, major holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The St. Johnsbury Athanaeum Art Gallery is temporarily closed for skylights’ restoration, but a digital presentation of the collection is available for viewing in the Fiction Room of the library.  The Art Gallery is scheduled to reopen sometime in 2011.