The Warfield Collection Migrates Home

A little piece of history is set to be on permanent display at the Jaffrey Civic Center and the public is invited to celebrate bringing the Warfield Collection home to Jaffrey. The Jaffrey Historical Society is honored to exhibit the recently acquired Warfield Collection. The exhibition will be through Sept. 17 at the Jaffrey Civic Center. Robert and Virginia Warfield found success in everything they did. They spent a large part of their lives living in Jaffrey and were well known for their hand carved birds. They painted over 7,000 detailed and exquisite birds which can be found on display all over the world. The remaining 50, known as the Warfield Collection, were bequeathed to the Sharon Arts Center in 2009 and to be put on permanent display. Eleven years later, in 2019, Sharon Arts Center closed, leaving the collection in limbo and at risk of scattered disposal. Due to the diligence and generous support of Robert's son, Bob Warfield, this collection was rescued and returned home to Jaffrey, its rightful home. The Warfield's story started in 1936, Robert Warfield was in the theater and started the Theater Department at Boston University. Virginia was an aspiring actress and that was how they met. They were married in 1941. In 1953 they started a very successful custom furniture business called Littleton Crafts, located in Littleton, MA. They moved to Jaffrey in 1965. While they had Littleton Crafts in operation, Robert made a furniture delivery to a house, and he noticed some beautiful carved birds that caught his interest. He asked the homeowner if he could borrow one and bring it home to show his wife; the homeowner agreed. When he arrived home and showed Virginia, he told her he knew he could carve something similar and that she could paint them. Virginia said, "I don't know how to paint," and he replied, "You'll find out." These first birds they carved in 1966, are called the "Warfield Primitives," also known as "Smoothies." They were still filling furniture orders but started carving in their spare time. In 1972 they put all the orders for their Warfield Primitives on hold and spent a year exploring a more dynamic and realistic carving. There were lots of bird carvers in that era, and they would seek them out to learn of their techniques, so they were able to develop new skills. 1972 was the beginning of their very sophisticated bird carvings that are in the exhibition. The Warfields did their bird carvings for 18 years until Robert's death in 1990. After his death, Virginia gave her attention to fine pen and ink drawings, which will also be on display. Virginia died in 2004. The Warfield Collection will be on display on the first and second floor through Sept. 17 and then will remain permanently displayed on the first floor of the Jaffrey Civic Center. Along with the bird carvings and the pen and ink drawings, there will be sculptures, a nativity scene, magazine articles and more. There will also be museum products with bird images such as postcards, calendars, coasters and mugs that will be available to purchase. The Jaffrey Civic Center is located at 40 Main St., Jaffrey. For more information, jaffreyciviccenter.com; info@jaffreyciviccenter.com; 532-6527.