Past Exhibitions

“Why Deprive the State of Her Service?”: The Political Lives of Rose, Marian, and Margaret Nichols

March 7, 2020 – August 29, 2020

In recognition of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial, as well as the 100th anniversary of important individual efforts on behalf of the Nichols sisters, the Nichols House Museum invites you to explore their personal histories of political activism.

Rose, Marian, and Margaret Nichols each had their own unique way of furthering the suffrage movement and subsequently devoted their lives to three distinct causes: pacifism, anti-corruption, and the defense of civil liberties.

Exhibition text is available in PDF format. Download the PDF.

The Gardens of Rose Standish Nichols, 1890-1930

May 16, 2019-August 31, 2019

This exhibition celebrates the 40-year career in landscape design of the Museum’s founder, Rose Standish Nichols (1872-1960). Based on new research, the exhibition describes Nichols’s self-directed horticultural education, displays enchanting views of a selection of her gardens across the United States, and illuminates the significance of her career as one of the country’s pioneering female design professionals.

CraftsWOMEN: The Woodworking of Rose and Margaret Nichols in Arts & Crafts New England

December 9, 2018 – March 30, 2019

In 1889, around the time when Rose and Margaret Nichols first approached the carpenter’s bench, a Boston columnist for The Art Amateur wrote: “There is nothing that men do that is not done by women now in Boston.” No better example of the intrepid character of Boston women can be found than in Rose Standish Nichols (1872-1960) and her younger sister Margaret Homer Nichols Shurcliff (1879-1959) who, in addition to being social activists, challenged turn-of-the-century gender norms by practicing woodcarving and carpentry, respectively. Even under the umbrella of the inclusive Arts & Crafts movement, woodworking was often seen as being outside the purview of women practitioners due to its physically strenuous nature.

New England’s regionally specific Colonial Revival is also represented by the sisters’ woodworking. This exhibition aims to bridge the gap between the seventeenth-century craftsmanship that inspired the Nichols sisters, twentieth-century craftswomen, and makers today.

Their Objects, Their Stories: The Nichols Women as Collectors, 1870-1960

June 7, 2018 – October 13, 2018

“The importance of our environment and its influence on our lives can hardly be overestimated” wrote Rose Standish Nichols in 1911. With this exhibition, the Nichols House Museum explores two generations of art collecting at 55 Mount Vernon Street and the treasured objects which tell stories that are at once both familiar and unique. Their Objects, Their Stories celebrates Elizabeth and Rose Nichols for their autonomy and individualism in what they chose to collect, and how their respective collecting practices were in step with the aspirations of the Gilded Age and the women’s rights movement of the early twentieth century. From a sixteenth-century Flemish tapestry to twentieth-century bronzeworks by sculptor Paul Manship, this exhibition spans nearly 400 years of art across three continents. Letters, account books, and other ephemera are also on view to shed light on this mother-daughter relationship and their individual careers as Boston’s lesser-known tastemakers.

Download the e-booklet.

Makers’ Marks: Art, Craft and the Fiber of Change

April 4, 2017 – September 22, 2017

The Nichols sisters came of age during the Arts and Crafts movement (1880 – 1910), which called for a return to handcrafts for the sake of beauty, quality, and social progress. These values impacted the educations, careers, and politics of the Nichols sisters. Letters, memoirs, and objects in the museum’s collection tell the story of their work with sewing, pottery, and woodworking. Beyond being object makers, the Nichols sisters utilized their skills to educate and advocate for people from diverse backgrounds.

The museum showcases the Nichols sisters’ accomplishments and tells the story of craft from the Progressive Era to today by presenting works by four contemporary craft artists interspersed throughout its historic rooms. Artists featured in the exhibition are Jasmine Baetz, Betse Frail, Chelsea Revelle, and Carlie Waganer.

By harnessing today’s spirit of making, activism and community engagement, the museum expands its interpretation of the Nichols family’s history and the role of craft as a platform for dialogue and activism in contemporary society.

Download the e-catalog. First prize, New England Museum Association Publication Award Competition for Exhibition Catalogues (budgets under $500,000).