DEERFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A rare wedding chest crafted by a Deerfield woman will be on display after being recently discovered.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Historic Deerfield announced its acquisition of the “Garden of Hearts” bridal chest crafted and constructed by Madeline Yale Wynn in 1903. An exhibit will be on display beginning April 15th at Historic Deerfield’s Flynt Center of Early England Life entitled “Garden of Hearts: Madeline Yale Wynne and Deerfield’s Arts and Crafts Movement.” 

The oak chest is known as the Garden of Hearts for its low-relief painted scene of three inverted heart-shaped trees standing alongside a winding river. On its back panel in rounded, flowing capital letters is carved “MADE IN AMERICA.”

In 1903 it was shipped to an unknown owner in England, and the chest was lost for much of the 20^th and early 21^st centuries. Approximately 100 individuals contributed funds that allowed Historic Deerfield to acquire the chest and mount the related exhibition.

“This is an exquisite example of creativity and historically informed craftsmanship by the leader of an important circle of local women who combined Colonial Revival precepts with Arts and Crafts aesthetics to put Deerfield on the map in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries,” said John Davis, President of Historic Deerfield. “In doing so, they reinvigorated the town’s struggling economic fortunes and enabled dozens of women living on farms to bring some extra earnings into their families.”

“This is an exquisite example of creativity and historically informed craftsmanship by the leader of an important circle of local women who combined Colonial Revival precepts with Arts and Crafts aesthetics to put Deerfield on the map in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries,” said John Davis, President of Historic Deerfield. “In doing so, they reinvigorated the town’s struggling economic fortunes and enabled dozens of women living on farms to bring some extra earnings into their families.”

According to Suzanne Flynt, lead curator of the exhibition, author of Poetry to the Earth: The Arts & Crafts Movement in Deerfield, and Historic Deerfield Trustee, “Wynne’s creativity and artistry, at their best in her extraordinary Garden of Hearts, inspired her Deerfield neighbors to share her ‘joy in labor’ through self-expression in crafts. Through Wynne’s knowledge of Arts and Crafts ideals—honest materials, simple designs, and hand craftsmanship—and an abundance of manual skills, Deerfield residents created crafts that were exhibited and sold nationally.” 

Dan Sousa, assistant curator at Historic Deerfield and co-curator of the show says, “We are proud to have acquired Wynne’s Garden of Hearts masterpiece. Not only is it a stunning example of Arts and Crafts furniture, but it is also the museum’s first piece of furniture made by a woman woodworker. Its acquisition is significant, and will allow the museum to further strengthen and diversify its extensive collection of American furniture, as well as to share new narratives involving women’s contributions to Arts and Crafts furniture design.”