Museum Collections

American Art

The American painting collection was established by Bartlett Arkell, the founder and first president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company. The paintings he collected are recognized today as some of the best works created by leading late 19th- and early 20th-century American artists. Arkell built the art gallery attached to the Canajoharie Library in 1927, and worked with the Macbeth Gallery in New York to acquire a remarkable collection of American paintings. The collection includes works by Winslow Homer, and important paintings by George Inness, William M. Chase, Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, Maurice Prendergast, Robert Henri.

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William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), The Connoisseur (In the Studio Corner), ca. 1885, Oil on canvas, Gift of Bartlett Arkell, 1928

Historic Beech-Nut Packing Co. Advertising and Company Archive

The Beech-Nut Packing Company Collection, a major resource within this collection, includes photographs of early factory life, company scrapbooks, and marketing materials.

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Picture of a cardboard advertisement. A couple sits facing each other. The woman holds a cup of coffee up to the man. She has a short 1920s hair cut, they use fine china. In the background is a tropical paradise with mountains rising behind. On the mountains are text that reads Beech-Nut Coffee.

Beech-Nut Packing Co. Historic Advertising Archive, Coffee Advertisement, n.d.

Mohawk Valley

The museum has a growing collection of Mohawk Valley material that includes photographs, diaries, letters, and portraits of individuals and businesses of both local and national importance.

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historic photo post card of a three story building made of stone. It is winter, children play out front in the snow.

Historic photo of West Hill School in use as a high school, pre 1930.