After three years of painstaking and meticulous work, the sublime and understated Greek-Revival structure known as Dorset House is reopened. Hand-picked by Shelburne Museum founder Electra Havemeyer Webb to house her renowned decoy collection, Dorset House has been restored with new wiring, insulation, climate control, lighting, security and fire detection systems, reinforced beams, repaired slate roof and marble steps, refurbished porches, handicapped access, and state-of-the-art display cases with LED lighting. It’s the ideal home for the Museum’s waterfowl decoy exhibition, which features superb works by master craftsmen from all over North America including A. Elmer Crowell of Cape Cod (“the Leonardo da Vinci of decoy carvers,” per The Boston Globe), Captain Charles Osgood, Albert Laing, Lem and Steve Ward, Bill Bowman, and Shang Wheeler. Renowned decoy factories such as Mason Decoy, American Decoy, Dodge Decoy, Rose Folding Decoy, and Stevens Decoy are also represented.
Museum Grounds