While Concord’s role in the start of the American Revolution is widely recognized, less well known are the continued experiences of disruption and turmoil in Concord throughout the war.
What was it like to be part of this war-time community? Who participated in this fight for Independence and what did freedom and Independence mean to different people? When the war ended, how did local communities develop as part of a fragile new nation?
Through eyewitness historical objects, artworks, and documents, “Transformed by Revolution,” which opened recently and continues through Feb. 22 at the Concord Museum, explores what it was like to be part of this war-time community that hosted Harvard College and became a hub of military supplies for the army in Boston.
The exhibition also considers who participated in this fight for Independence and the meanings of freedom for women, the Black community, and sovereign Indigenous nations. These stories are traced through the end of the war and into the years of the early Republic to explore shifting ideas about community, belonging, and what it meant to be part of the new nation.
Among many artifacts, visitors will see a portrait of Revolution patriot Benjamin Franklin that inspired his image on the $100 bill; a story quilt entitled Cumming A Freeman by a contemporary artist; a fragment of the North Bridge, and a military camp stool captured at Saratoga that will invite visitors to consider the development of a free Black community in Concord.
Historic clothing, furniture, and domestic objects illuminate the experiences of women and community building in the new Republic.
And a musket, an engraved powder horn, and original documents illustrate how Concord served during the Revolutionary War as a military hub, supplying the 15-20,000 soldiers surrounding the British Army trapped in Boston.
Visit www.concordmuseum.org for info, hours, programs and planning your visit.
Gallery notes
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: David Evans is the Parish Center for the Arts’ Artist of the Month for October, and his work is on view at the PCA, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford through Oct. 31, with hours when the PCA is open and special viewing hours each Sunday from noon-2 p.m. Evans creates multiple layers of dimension by utilizing various techniques and brush strokes, typically featuring abstract portraiture and arbitrary use of color. He began creating art in elementary school and started painting at around 12-years-old. By high school, he had won several contests and awards. He has experience working with a variety of mediums including lithography, charcoal, pen and ink, photography, oil, pencil, watercolor and acrylic, as well as graphic design. His primary focuses are painting, mixed media and photography. Evans began displaying and selling his work at CD Willy’s in Maynard before college. At 18, he found out he was partially colorblind, changing his creative process. After graduating from UMass-Amherst with a BFA in painting, he moved to Cape Cod where he did an internship at the Cape Cod Museum of Fine Arts. He has had work shown on the Cape. Visit https://parisharts.square.site for info.
Nancye Tuttle’s email is nancyedt@verizon.net.
