Night at a museum
Central Massachusetts Convention and Visitors Bureau photo Peter Timms
December 6, 2012 – The Annual Meeting at the Fitchburg Art Museum took place. It was a farewell event for Peter Timms, Director 1973 – 2012. A film Masterpiece in a Mill Town, directed by Emily Driscoll, Fitchburg native, featured the founding of the museum to present day. Timms had the vision to make the art collection grow from private art collections to museum holdings. The museum also displays visiting and loaned art. Timms was masterful at raising millions of dollars to bring the Fitchburg Art Museum up to its present life.
Peter Timms and Eleanor Norcross (1854 – 1923) had big dreams.
Eleanor had the vision of wanting citizens to experience art as she had witnessed in Paris in the 19th Century. She was an exceptional artist and an independent young woman, ahead of her time.
Peter Timms carried on the vision of wanting the museum to come alive through education. He learned of one school that experienced an average of 50 percent dropout in the mid grades. With fortitude, he carved the idea of teaching children through art at the museum. Students learned about Egyptian art. Through this medium they learned science, math, geography, and other important subjects that make young minds excel. Through educational programs, many once absentee students became engaged in learning at the museum. The school was the former home of Eleanor Norcross. It was heartbreak to Timms when the school closed.
To spur growth through education, the museum opens its door the first Thursday of each month. The museum invites citizens to come and enjoy the museum free of charge.
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