An exciting three-part exhibit, “Portals to Our Past: The Covered Bridge in Art and History”, will be held by the Bennington Museum and the Bennington Center for the Arts this spring

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2007

CONTACT: Katie McElwain/ Marketing Coordinator

(802) 447-1571 Fax (802) 442-8305

An exciting three-part exhibit, “Portals to Our Past: The Covered Bridge in Art and History”, will be held jointly by the Bennington Museum and the Bennington Center for the Arts this spring. Few structures in America combine architectural ingenuity, economic necessity and romantic idealism better than the covered bridge. The collaboration between the Bennington Museum and the Bennington Center for the Arts will give visitors a comprehensive look at the development of these structures and their place in art. A joint ticket from April 7-June 17 will give admission to two exhibits at the Bennington Museum as well as admission to the Covered Bridge Museum at the Bennington Center for the Arts. Tickets may be purchased at either location.

This dynamic event will commence on April 7^th with “Art of the Covered Bridge” at the Bennington Museum. Consisting of paintings, photos, and other works of art from the museum’s collections, the show will explore the picturesque beauty of these structures. Covered bridges grew in popularity among the general public in the early 20th century and became attractive subjects for artists and advertisers. They appeared in advertisements for everything from tires to thermal underwear, feeding the nation’s desire for nostalgia.

The Smithsonian traveling exhibition, “Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape,” will run at The Bennington Museum from April 13 –June 10. The show celebrates these iconic structures and the individuals behind their development through photographs, architectural schematics and models. Merchants Bank Foundation is the local sponsor of the exhibition and its related educational programs.

“Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape” was developed by the Historic American Engineering Record, a division of the National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES); it is funded in part by the Federal Highway Administration.

Though they first appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages, covered bridges flourished in the United States in the 19th century, where they helped encourage the country’s economic development by way of a growing network of roads. The first covered bridge in the country appeared over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia in 1805, and by the 1870s more than 10,000 covered the American landscape as part of the country’s westward expansion.

Despite their appeal, between 1870 and 1970, 90 percent of the country’s covered bridges were destroyed by arsonists, natural causes and progress in transportation. Today only about 750 remain, concentrated mostly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Vermont, Indiana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Community leaders in these states have recognized their value as a tourist attraction, and they have become symbols of community pride and history. Perhaps no single person did more for the covered bridge in recent times than author Robert James Waller, whose 1992 book “The Bridges of Madison County” stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 150 weeks.

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years. For more information, including exhibition descriptions and tour schedules, visit www.sites.si.edu.

The Bennington Center for the Arts, located west of downtown on Route 9, houses the first and only Covered Bridge Museum in the world. This interactive museum combines both technical as well as artistic elements in its exhibits. The museum demonstrates the history, construction, science, and art of the covered bridge in a way that appeals to visitors of all ages. Although it is open throughout the year the Covered Bridge Museum will take on a unique context when viewed in conjunction with the exhibition at the Bennington Museum.

An opening reception will be held at both locations on Friday, April 13 to celebrate the entire event. For more information visit the website at www.benningtonmuseum.org. or call 802-447-1571. The Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main St. (Route 9) one mile west of the intersection of Routes 7 and 9 in downtown Bennington, Vermont. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. closed Wednesdays.