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MUSEUM CLOSED JUNE 4
We are closed Sunday, June 4th for our special event MV Flavors: A Food History Symposium
Plan Your Visit
Discover, explore, and strengthen your connection to Martha’s Vineyard and its diverse heritage.
Plan Your Visit
Discover, explore, and strengthen your connection to Martha’s Vineyard and its diverse heritage.
Plan Your Visit
Discover, explore, and strengthen your connection to Martha’s Vineyard and its diverse heritage.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
The Grain Family Gallery
Unfreedom
Stories of Enslavement, Indenture, and Incarceration on Martha's Vineyard
None of us is wholly free. The freedom of some individuals, however, is far more limited than that of the average citizen. This “unfreedom” exists in many forms and many degrees, but its burdens fall primarily on those already disadvantaged by their race, sex, age, social standing, or economic condition, and its benefits flow overwhelmingly to those already advantaged. This exhibit is an exploration of three kinds of unfreedom in the history of the Island: enslavement, indentured servitude, and incarceration.
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Saltzman Cabinet of Curiosities
Jaws
Creating Amity Island
In the spring of 1974, Hollywood descended on the Island. Martha’s Vineyard had been cast to play the fictitious Amity Island in the now classic film Jaws. In this mini-exhibit, a teaser to our 50th anniversary exhibition in 2025, discover behind-the-scenes details of the production, including the challenges of filming on location and the ways in which the Island's community was involved in the process.
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The Hollinshead, Cox, and Fleischner Galleries
The Extraordinary Life of Dorothy West
From ‘the Kid’ to Miss West
Following her life from Boston to New York, Moscow, and Martha’s Vineyard, explore the story of Dorothy West, writer, editor, and youngest member of the Harlem Renaissance.
READ MORECOLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS
Woven Bag
Contemporary Wampanoag artists and artisans help us picture the world of their ancestors, the first inhabitants of this Island, by making objects using old and new materials while drawing on old and new techniques.
Mary Norton Sampler
Mary H. Norton made this sampler in Holmes Hole (now Vineyard Haven) when she was around 12 years old.
Jagging Wheel
Though most familiar in the form of whales’ teeth carved with pictures of ships, scrimshaw was an extremely varied art.
Chappy
Mary Drake Coles learned to paint during childhood summers on Martha’s Vineyard, in her teens in Provincetown, and later at Smith College, in Paris, Majorca, Haiti, and New York.
Zeb Tilton Portrait
Benton found inspiration on Martha’s Vineyard from his first visits to the Island in the 1920s until his death in 1975.
Dancing Dolls (Brinquinho)
Mary Paiva Drouin, the daughter of a first-generation Portuguese immigrant family, recalls how her family’s cherished “dancing dolls” in traditional Portuguese dress were paraded through the streets of Oak Bluffs during the Holy Ghost Festival.
Brickman’s Shirt
One of the earliest Jewish families to settle here, the Brickmans operated a shoe business on Main Street in Vineyard Haven that became Brickman’s department store.
Dial Telephone Service Comes to Aquinnah
This photograph, staged in May 1955 to celebrate the introduction of dial telephone service in Chilmark and Gay Head, captures the tension between tradition and modernity.
Gislaine Portrait
In 2017, the Museum exhibited photographer Mila Lowe’s “Local Immigrants Project.” Lowe undertook the project to document the wide diversity of recent immigrants to the Island.
Luce Dressing Box
Captain Richard G. Luce presented this box to his daughter, Abbie Bradford Luce, upon returning from one of his many long voyages.
Life Preserver
Life preserver from the City of Columbus, which crashed on the underwater rocks of Devil’s Bridge in January 1884 when a gash was torn in the hull and seawater rushed into the steamer.
Priscilla Pearl Necklaces
Manufactured in Hyannis at the Priscilla Laboratory, these glass and herring scale “pearls” were named “Priscilla Pearls” and sold around the country through mail order and at Lina Call’s Priscilla Pearl Shop in Edgartown.
Violin
Owned by E. Gale Huntington, this violin was possibly carried around Cape Horn on a voyage by Menemsha fisherman Lyman Cottle.
Monohansett
Monohansett (1862), depicted in this painting by J. P. Winegar, was the first reliable steam ferry to serve Martha’s Vineyard.
Fall River Line Advertisement
Palatial “night boats” like Plymouth connected New York and Martha’s Vineyard.
“Enchanted Isle” Poster
This 1934 travel poster promoted the Vineyard as a playground of the rich and stylish.
Islander
Islander, which operated from 1950-2007, revolutionized ferry service to the Vineyard.
Island Queen Advertisement
Summer “excursion boats” like the Island Queen carried day tourists to Oak Bluffs.
Provincetown-Boston Airlines Timetable
Provincetown-Boston Airline was the Island’s leading air carrier for 40 years.
Islander and Island Home
Islander (1950) passes her successor Island Home (2007) in Vineyard Haven Harbor.
EVENTS
Panel Discussion: Sailing to Freedom
The Vineyard Gazette Media Group presents Sailing to Freedom, a panel discussion featuring Dr. Timothy Walker, Dr. Lee Blake, Bow Van Riper, and Paula Mann-Agnew. Shelley Stewart will moderate.
Author Talk: All Hands on Deck with Will Sofrin
Sailing the reproduction 18th-century warship Rose from Rhode Island to the South Seas to film Master and Commander was the adventure of a lifetime – meet sailor-turned-author Will Sofrin as he tells his tale of adventure on the high seas.
Sol y Canto Concert
Join us for an unforgettable concert by award-winning Pan-Latin ensemble, Sol y Canto, featuring Rosi Amador and Brian Amador.
VISIT OUR CAMPUS
With an exciting slate of exhibits, guest speakers, and community events, there’s always something new to discover at MVM.
OPEN 10 – 4
TUESDAY – SUNDAY
YEAR-ROUND
100,000+
ITEMS IN
OUR COLLECTION
Explore maps, manuscripts, objects, photos, oral histories, and much more.
2,500
FEET FROM THE
FERRY DOCK
Our Vineyard Haven campus is just a 10-minute walk from the Steamship Authority terminal.
100
YEARS OF SERVING THE ISLAND COMMUNITY
We are committed to collecting, preserving, and sharing all facets of the Island’s story, from the familiar to the untold.
LEARN
We provide thought-provoking and engaging learning experiences for students of all ages.
RESEARCH
We bring the Island’s history and culture to life through research and resources that encourage curiosity and compassion.
SUPPORT & DONATE
Your support empowers us to continue inspiring, educating, and strengthening our community.
“We believe in the mission and vision of the MV Museum. We want our grandchildren to love and appreciate this Island’s history, art, and culture as much as we do, so it is very important to us that the Museum continues to grow and thrive!”
BARBARA COUCH
