Historic Curtains

Main Street Arts has the largest collection of historic painted curtains in the state of Vermont. Included in the inventory is a large selection of historic ears, hanging curtains and flats, and other theater objects. The curtains date from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. The majority of curtains have been painted by Charles Henry between 1880 and 1917. A local resident, Henry's curtains can still be found here at MSA and also in Sudbury, Huntington, Hardwick, Albany, Craftwbury, Westford, Newfane, Guilford, and Concord, Vermont. Many of these curtains are still hung on our stage and used for our theater productions.

In 2003, a team from the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance and local volunteers, led by Christine Hadsel, worked to stabilize our curtains by cleaning and mending the canvas, fixing any paint layers, and improving the rolling and installation mechanisms for the curtains currently on the stage and available for use. Other curtains were prepared for safe storage. This program was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Windham Foundation, and community contributions.

Many of our curtains were on display at Shelburne Farms, in Shelburne, Vermont in the Suspended Worlds presentation of historic painted theater curtains from Vermont in the fall of 2006. This project was presented by the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance. For more information about the about the project go to www.vmga.org.

This is a curtain by Charles Henry finished the the 1890's. It is a fantasy scene with the mountains and a lake, in a Bavarian village, with a six-in-hand coach. Photo by Carolyn Bates.

This is a street scene painted by Charles Henry in the 1890's. Photo by Carolyn Bates.

This Henry curtain was completed in the 1890's and is a snow scene with a cabin on the lake in the winter. Photo by Carolyn Bates.

This curtain is thought to be painted by Henry, and was completed in the 1890s. It is the inside of a prison / dungeon cell. Photo by Carolyn Bates.

This balcony shows the mountains and the lake and is believed to be painted by Henry in the 1890's. Photo by Carolyn Bates.