To the Editor:
Where to go till the Clark reopens on July 4th? And you certainly don’t want to miss this. You have until April 27 to drive east instead of north to Springfield to the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts for a fascinating and beautiful exhibit, “Intent to Deceive: Fakes and Forgeries in the Art World.”
It’s a little like being at the Met with their collection of Matisses, Picassos and Modiglianis except they’re all fakes. The stories of the forgers are equally fascinating. Some of the originals in the museum’s excellent permanent collection are not as good as the fakes.
The Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum is one of four museums on the quad in Springfield, in the center of which is a huge group of sculptures of Dr. Seuss characters and a massive twig house by twig sculptor Patrick Dougherty.
Another museum, The George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum featurimg decorative arts has a funky exhibit that just opened, “Steampunk Springfield: Re-imagining an Industrial City.” The architecture of the building is wonderful Victoriana — catch the stained glass windows with writers’ names.
It takes the same amount of time from Lee to get to Springfield as to Williamstown. The price of the museum is certainly affordable, as is lunch at their good cafe in the Elijah Blake House Visitor Center with a gift shop (with many Dr. Seuss T-shirts). It’s a very full day.
Nancy F. Nirenberg
Stockbridge
