The East Bridgewater Public Library’s F.D. Millet room is now home to another original work from the East Bridgewater painter. ‘Millet’s Studio in Venice,’ which is shown on the right hanging next to another of Millet’s works, ‘In the Bay of Naples,’ was donated to the library in October. (Photo courtesy Town of East Bridgewater) 
A close-up of ‘Millet’s Studio in Venice,’ which now hangs in the East Bridgewater Public Library’s F.D. Millet room. (Photo courtesy Town of East Bridgewater) 
The library’s F.D. Millet room was dedicated in March of 2001. (Photo courtesy Town of East Bridgewater) 
The Millet room features several paintings from the artist, as well as other artifacts from his life. One such artifact is a medal given to him by the Emperor of Japan in 1908 when he visited the country as an emissary to the Japanese government at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt. (Photo courtesy Town of East Bridgewater) 
The East Bridgewater Public Library’s F.D. Millet room. (Photo courtesy Town of East Bridgewater)
EAST BRIDGEWATER — Director of Library Services Christopher McGhee and Town Administrator Charlie Seelig are pleased to announce that the East Bridgewater Public Library recently accepted the gift of a painting by well-known local painter Francis Davis Millet.
The East Bridgewater Public Library Board of Trustees received the painting, “Millet’s Studio in Venice,” in October after it was donated by resident and Millet scholar Peter Engstrom. It now hangs in the library’s F.D. Millet room, located on the first floor of the library, alongside several of Millet’s other paintings and other artifacts from his life.
Millet, a classical painter, sculptor, author and statesman who was born in Mattapoisett in 1846, died during the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. He grew up and lived for many years in East Bridgewater, the town where his mother’s family had resided for generations. He kept a studio in town (now a private residence), and is buried in East Bridgewater Central Cemetery.
Engstrom, a retired school teacher, lives in the residence that was once Millet’s studio. After moving into the home he became interested in learning more about Millet’s life, and has preserved the work — and memory — of Millet for years.
“Millet’s Studio in Venice” depicts a sunny open-air Venetian studio scene. Engstrom purchased the painting in 1995, and donated it to the library to further ensure Millet’s works would stay together and are in the possession of the town.
Featured prominently in the background of the painting is a recreation of another of Millet’s works, “In the Bay of Naples,” which also hangs in the Millet room at the library. Engstrom donated the new painting with the condition that it be hung adjacent to the much larger oil painting.
“In the Bay of Naples,” one of the artist’s better known works, has been hanging in the library since the Millet room was dedicated in March of 2001.
“Peter has been extremely generous for many years in donating pieces of Millet’s work to the Town of East Bridgewater and to the Library, and was very eager to donate this latest painting so that it will be accounted for and safe for years to come,” Director McGhee said. “The painting is, as he puts it, where it belongs alongside Millet’s other works.”
It took several weeks to formally hang “Millet’s Studio in Venice,” but now that it is on display in the Millet room it joins several other of his paintings, several medals Millet earned during his lifetime, and a badge and sash given to him by the Emperor of Japan in 1908 when he visited the country as an emissary to the Japanese government at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt.
“Millet was very well respected during his lifetime but many people in town do not know of his work or his legacy, which is why it means so much for the Library to be able to display so much information and work from his lifetime,” Director McGhee said. “Thanks to the generosity of Peter Engstrom, patrons to the library will be able to view the artist’s work for years to come and learn about a piece of East Bridgewater’s history through a prominent resident who once lived here.”
Guests can view “Millet’s Studio in Venice” in the East Bridgewater Public Library during the library’s normal business hours, which are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. To learn more, visit the library’s website here.
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