Museum Exhibit Honors
Historian Graves’ Work
By Robin Tagliaferri
Forbes House Museum
7/28/11
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This year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Hutchinson, the last royal governor of Massachusetts.

To celebrate the life of this controversial and tragic figure, the Forbes House Museum has been offering a number of programs that investigate Hutchinson’s life.

The exhibit “The Governor’s Garden: A Life’s Work in Progress,” showcases the work of local historian and scholar Nina Graves, who has been studying Hutchinson’s life and pursuits for more than 20 years. It includes her original architectural drawings of Hutchinson’s garden and a 3D model of his 95-acre, 18th-century Milton Hill estate.

“On an individual level,” writes Graves, “the story of gardening and gardens is a tale of aspirations and self fulfillment … Too much garden history has been concerned with when gardens were made, what they looked like, who made them and how they changed. More interesting by far is what the makers expected from the gardens, and how they and their successors evaluated their investment in gardening and the return it brought them.”

Graves’ exhibit is on view at the museum during its regular tour schedule Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 and 3 p.m. through Aug. 21. Special group tours are aso available by appointment.

The Forbes House Museum is located at 215 Adams St. For more information, visit its new Facebook page or www.forbeshousemuseum.org, or call (617) 696-1815.