Implementation of the Worcester Art Museum's Arms and Armor Galleries

FAIN: GI-278237-21

Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, MA 01609-3123)
Jeffrey Louis Forgeng (Project Director: September 2020 to present)

Implementation of the reinstallation of a permanent collection of medieval arms and armor, including open storage, a visible conservation lab, and a study center.

The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) seeks renewed support from the NEH to assist with the final design and installation of its new permanent 5,000 sq. ft. Arms and Armor Galleries. Featuring almost the entirety of WAM’s 2,000-object Higgins Collection of arms and armor, the galleries will emphasize accessibility, empowering visitors of diverse ages, backgrounds, and a broad spectrum of abilities, to curate their own experience in exploring the stores embodied in these alluring objects. The installation will be multisensory and multimedia to accommodate different learning styles, and will highlight the multiple thematic lenses through which these objects can be understood. The underlying humanities themes shaping the installation include the contrast between the seemingly pragmatic purpose of these objects and their complex functions, and the meaning of their enduring power as symbols today even though they are no longer in actual use.

Media Coverage

Worcester Art Museum gets $400,000 NEH grant for permanent Higgins Armory installation (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Richard Duckett
Publication: Telegram & Gazette
Date: 6/30/2021
Abstract: Announcement of the Worcester Art Museum's recent $400,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support a permanent gallery installation dedicated to the John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection of arms and armor
URL: https://www.telegram.com/story/entertainment/2021/06/30/worcester-art-museum-receives-400-000-grant-higgins-armor-gallery/7810098002/?fbclid=IwAR09tzb90MvmDzmXA4OwT8gkGr0V6IfaED1dZDGmW89LE5Tbl23Fv4JkwNk

Associated Products

The Age of Armor: Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum (Catalog)
Title: The Age of Armor: Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum
Author: Jeffrey L. Forgeng
Abstract: From the warriors of ancient Greek legends to the knights of the middle ages to today's comic book superheroes, the idea of personal body armor has an enduring hold on the human imagination. Armor is as old and widespread as civilization itself, but full suits of articulated steel plates were made only in Europe, and only for a brief time in the late middle ages and renaissance. Far from the ungainly exoskeleton we often imagine today, the suit of armor was made to be sleek and stylish-painstakingly engineered, elegantly designed, and treasured as the expression of its owner's taste, sophistication, and prowess. This rare exhibition of highlights from one of America's foremost collections of arms and armor explores the story of armor in its golden age.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1280350936
Primary URL Description: Catalog listing on WorldCat.org
Secondary URL: https://the-museum-shop-at-wam.myshopify.com/products/the-age-of-armor
Secondary URL Description: Catalog link on the Worcester Art Museum Shop website
Catalog Type: Exhibition Catalog
Publisher: Worcester Art Museum/the museum box

The Equipment of a Medieval and Renaissance Horse (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Equipment of a Medieval and Renaissance Horse
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video shared on the Museum's YouTube page. Description: Knights weren’t the only ones decked out in specialized equipment on the medieval battlefield. Their horses also needed the proper gear in order to perform effectively.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq6VGpI1rpU
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

Mail Armor (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Mail Armor
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video. Description: Before the advent of plate armor, mail armor was the primary mode of defense.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt4HXOco_GI
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

Rise of Plate Armor (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Rise of Plate Armor
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video. Decription: While mail armor protected against cuts, plate armor was introduced to provide additional protection against crushing weapons.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k-8_g3iz0A
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

The Armorer's Craft (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Armorer's Craft
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video. Description: Decoration could be applied to armor using a variety of techniques to make it more ornate and visually appealing.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2twF7Par6BU
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

Medieval and Renaissance Horses (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Medieval and Renaissance Horses
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video. Description: What’s a knight without his trusty steed?
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQDypsgE-2w
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

The John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection (Web Resource)
Title: The John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Author: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: A recently revamped webpage documenting the Higgins Collection and the gallery project
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.worcesterart.org/collection/higgins-collection/
Primary URL Description: Link on Worcester Art Museum's website

The Age of Armor: Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum (Exhibition)
Title: The Age of Armor: Treasures from the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Art Museum
Curator: Jeffrey L. Forgeng
Abstract: The Age of Armor is a traveling exhibition created by the Worcester Art Museum featuring star objects from the John Woodman Higgins Collection of Arms and Armor. These objects would otherwise be on storage during the development and construction of the permanent Arms and Armor Gallery at WAM. Venues include the Toledo Museum of Art (Nov 2021-Feb 2022), Denver Art Museum (May-Sept 2022), Cummer Museum (Oct 2022-Jan 2023), St. Louis Art Museum (Feb-May 2023), Telfair Museums (June-Oct 2023), Huntsville Museum of Art (Nov 2023-Jan 2024), and San Antonio Museum of Art (Feb-May 2024).
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/age-of-armor
Primary URL Description: Webpage for the exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, where it was on view May 15, 2022 – September 5, 2022.
Secondary URL: https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/age-of-armor-treasures-from-the-higgins-armor-collection-at-the-worcester-art-museum/
Secondary URL Description: Webpage for the exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum, where it was on view February 18–May 14, 2023.

Higgins Collection Open Storage App (Web Resource)
Title: Higgins Collection Open Storage App
Author: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: WAM is piloting a digital interactive known as the Open Storage App to replace traditional object labels for objects in the future Arms and Armor gallery, as space in the Gallery will be limited. The app not only provides information on the objects, but it allows for a rich exploratory experience enriched with contextual information, videos, and powerful search functions. The app, accessible via link or QR code, will also be acessible in the future gallery via iPad kiosks. App content has been created and reviewed by WAM staff and interns and NEH-funded specialists.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://higgins-collection.org/
Primary URL Description: Link to the Open Storage app

3D Digital Models from the Higgins Collection (Web Resource)
Title: 3D Digital Models from the Higgins Collection
Author: Dale Utt
Author: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: On Sketchfab.com, WAM has created our first batch of 3D digital models of selected objects from the Higgins Collection. This project was made possible through a collaboration with Dale Utt, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s head of digital modeling, who has generously donated his time and expertise to create these models.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: sketchfab.com/higginsatwam

Bill (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Bill
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video posted on the Museum's YouTube page about the "bill," a medieval device that could be used both as an agricultural tool and a powerful chopping weapon.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weUfcRhCm9I&list=PLj9UwqTtbQvMv_MjMHkc8hrRADPS4kx3_&index=2
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

John Woodman Higgins and His Armory (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: John Woodman Higgins and His Armory
Writer: Worcester Art Museum
Director: Worcester Art Museum
Producer: Worcester Art Museum
Abstract: Educational video posted on the Museum's YouTube page about John Woodman Higgins, his life, and how he founded the Higgins Armory and Museum.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yXXiDM5bdI&list=PLj9UwqTtbQvMv_MjMHkc8hrRADPS4kx3_&index=3&t=1s
Primary URL Description: YouTube link
Access Model: Open access
Format: Video

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