Shaker Study Group
The Shaker Study Group brings together scholars, collectors, and enthusiasts in a shared commitment to the study of Shaker life and history. Encouraging new research, vibrant conversation, and hands-on engagement with material culture, we aim to support curiosity, interdisciplinary perspectives, and the continued evolution of Shaker scholarship in the 21st century.
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News & Updates
New Publication | The Harvard Shakers and their Cultural Landscape by Ned Quist
In the small New England town of Harvard, MA, there grew a small but significant Shaker society that thrived between 1781 and 1918. Planted by Mother Ann Lee herself, this communal society established four farms in the northeastern part of Harvard, Ayer, and Littleton. Their membership grew to as many as 180 Believers in over 80 buildings on more than 3,000 acres.
Museum Exhibition | A World in the Making: The Shakers, on view at ICA Philadelphia
A World in the Making explores the design legacy of the Shakers, a religious group whose values of community, labor, and equality shaped their furniture, architecture, and everyday objects. Through works by contemporary artists alongside original objects drawn from the collection of Shaker Museum (Chatham), the exhibition considers how Shaker design principles resonate today.
Museum Exhibition | Shaker Masterworks and the Art of Martin Kline at NBMAA
Shaker Masterworks pairs the best of Shaker craftsmanship with the works of an accomplished contemporary American artist. It is the Museum’s conviction that the “bests” of any artistic or craft endeavor will have elements in common. This exhibition encourages visitors to compare two distinctive disciplines and to determine what these “bests” have in common.