As an undergraduate back in the 1950s, I often visited the Worcester Art Museum in central Massachusetts, and it was there I first saw Winslow Homer's Bermuda watercolours.

I remember wishing they could be exhibited in Bermuda. Much later, as a graduate student at New York University I wrote a paper on the visit to Bermuda during the winter of 1917 of artists Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley and Albert Gleizes and again I remember wishing their paintings could be seen in Bermuda.

It never occurred to me, however, that this would ever be possible; the art scene in Bermuda at that time was not well enough developed to consider that an exhibition of this calibre could ever be possible.

It also became apparent that other well known artists had spent time painting the Bermuda scene. In Brunswick, Maine, I remember seeing a large watercolour of Ely's Harbour by Andrew Wyeth, and then there was an exhibition catalogue that I saw, at the Whitney Museum of American Art of Georgia O'Keeffe's Bermuda charcoal drawings of banana flowers.

I was aware of yet others who had worked here, but the idea of exhibiting their work in Bermuda seemed unthinkable. There was not even an appropriate facility in Bermuda at that time for housing such a show.

But Tom Butterfield thought the unthinkable and so it is that the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art has become a reality and the paintings that I thought beyond a Bermuda exhibition will now find a permanent home in Bermuda. This is a graphic example of the power of an idea.

However, an idea is only as good as the action resulting from it. This museum is the result of many years of persistent work and networking by all the people that Mr. Butterfield has been able to harness to his idea. Good going Tom!

An important aspect of this enterprise, in addition to collecting art, is the museum building itself, for it is an essential part of the whole museum equation. A good collection needs a good home. As the Masterworks museum has materialised, it has become a wonderful work of art itself.

The architectural firms involved have done a superior job in harmonising the new addition with the already existing, historic building. It not only meets all necessary requirements of a museum – such as suitable lighting, climate control, security and storage – it's also highly inviting.

This is partly because of its scale – it does not overwhelm visitors. Its proportions are humane and civil. Indeed, the entrance seems more like that of a fine home than a typical museum structure. There is a surprise, however. The main gallery and interior seems larger than the exterior suggests. That is not to say that the building is all that large – it isn't – but the architects have skilfully tucked the building into its environment, so that it just appears smaller than it actually is.

Like an iceberg, as others have noted, there is more to a museum than meets the visitor's eye. Only a small portion is public space. The rest houses various services, such as offices, preparation and workshop space and beneath the main gallery are all kinds of necessary mechanisms for maintaining climate control. Additionally, there is a large storage area.

What is currently exhibited, is only about six percent of the total collection. I understand that the plan is to periodically rotate the collection so that over a period of time, the public will be able to see all of it, but that will probably take years.

The collection is actually quite large and growing. Some may wonder why it is necessary to keep so much of the collection in storage. The simple answer is that it is generally important and especially with works on paper, that they not be exposed to too much light. It will be noticed that the main gallery does not have natural light. That is because it is necessary to avoid ultraviolet exposure, which is highly damaging to art. These works actually need downtime to rest in a darkened, secure, climate controlled space. While climate-controlled galleries may enhance human comfort, the essential reason for it, is primarily the health of the art.

The height of the main gallery is an issue for some – not that they dislike it – but because it is so high. Its proportions are actually those of sacred space. One person thought the main gallery was more like a church. I wondered about its acoustics and how music would sound in it. What would choir sound like? I know that it's not a concert hall so my musings are beside the point, nevertheless, music is not unheard of in art museums, and if it is acoustically suitable, why not?

The opening exhibition, as you might expect, showcases some of the collection's "big guns" such as Winslow Homer, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, Albert Gleizes, Georgia O'Keeffe and Andrew Wyeth, but other, less renowned artists are represented as well.

Paintings by such American Impressionists as the brothers, Gifford and Reynolds Beal, William Howe Foote, Clark Voorhees, Ross Sterling Turner and Norman Black are also well represented in this exhibition.

George Ault, an artist associated with Precisionism, has two works on exhibit. One is a notable modernist drawing of a Bermuda landscape, the other is a painting entitled, 'Bermuda Park'.

Expressionists tendencies can be seen in the paintings of Frank Carson and E. Ambrose Webster. Jennifer Bartlett, a contemporary American artist, brings the exhibition up to our own times, with watercolour and a pastel renditions of the Bermuda house. As you enter the museum, notice the wonderful poster by Boris Artzybasheff.

The Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art is open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The entrance fee is $5.