Words & Pictures Museum

Words & Pictures Museum was an art museum in Northampton housed in the historic Beardsley Building, presenting narrative art, comics, and graphic novels across four floors. The collection included approximately 20,000 original artworks from established and emerging creators in the comic industry.

The museum was founded in 1992 by Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who transformed his passion for comics and graphic art into a public exhibition space. After seven years of operation, it closed in 1999, leaving behind a significant collection without a permanent home.

The museum displayed works by artists like Jack Kirby and Frank Miller while dedicating exhibitions to women working in comics. This focus showed how important it was to make different voices in graphic art visible to audiences.

The museum was located in downtown Northampton in the Beardsley Building and was easy to find along Main Street. Before closing in 1999, it offered space to view artworks across multiple floors at a comfortable pace.

The museum hosted a major exhibition celebrating Heavy Metal magazine's 20-year milestone in 1997 and displayed original comic pages from EC Comics. These exhibitions made it an important destination for enthusiasts of these specific art forms.