Later this month, the Springfield Museums will unveil an exhibit combining Japanese woodblock prints depicting winter scenes with a collection of rare and whimsical snow globes from the past century. The exhibit, titled Let it Snow: Winter Scenes in Snow Globes and Japanese Prints, will be on view at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts from October 28, 2014–January 4, 2015.

The exhibit includes approximately 65 Japanese woodblock prints from the Springfield Museums’ famed Raymond Bidwell Collection, one of the largest holdings of Japanese prints in the United States and among the finest of any public collection in the world. Because the prints are light sensitive, they are displayed only on rare occasions. Featured in the exhibit are works by some of the world’s most well-known and revered ukiyo-e artists, including Katsushika Hokusai, Ando Hiroshige, Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Nomura Yoshimitsu

This winter-themed exhibit celebrates the season and the Japanese tradition of contemplating the beauty in nature, a common theme in ukiyo-e prints. The prints are divided into several categories that highlight the Japanese appreciation for the frosty season, including scenes of winter as a symbol of hardships to be overcome, images of historic winter events and snowy prints that relate to Japanese literature.

In addition, the exhibit will feature approximately 75 snow globes from a private New England collection, including antique domes made by the Atlas Toy Company, travel souvenirs, holiday scenes and popular culture-themed snow globes manufactured in the United States, Paris and Austria. The first souvenir snow globes were created for the Paris Exposition of 1889, and celebrated the centerpiece of the fair, the Eiffel Tower. This began an enduring trend of collecting the spheres as travel keepsakes. Memorabilia from the 1889 Exposition and replicas of original globes will be on display as part of the exhibit.

MassMutual is the 2014 Premier Sponsor of The Springfield Museums.