Rokeby reopens with new exhibit

FERRISBURGH, Vt. (WCAX) - A Ferrisburgh museum has reopened to the public after going virtual during the pandemic.

The Rokeby Museum, which focuses on the Underground Railroad and the four generations of a Vermont family that lived in the historic mansion, has opened with a new exhibit, “Rachel Robinson Elmer, Artist.” It focuses on her artwork from childhood all the way to her death in 1919 from the Spanish Flu pandemic. She was best known for her postcard series work and her illustrations for books.

“There are absolutely beautiful illustrations. They’re very colorful they’re very lively. She plays a lot with costuming and we can trace her entire illustrative process through her sketchbooks all the way to the final product in the books,” said the museum’s Lindsay Varner.

Visitors can pick up and flip through some of the old books that bear her drawings. The exhibit was put together by an artist-in-residence from Canada who worked remotely with the Rokeby during the pandemic.

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