When I first learned that the Masterworks Museum was going to do an exhibition on Bermuda's architecture, I wondered how they would go about curating it.

One consideration would have been the historic development, but given time constraints, I was fairly sure that this was not what they would do.

I would like to see such an exhibition some day, but this kind of exhibit takes considerable time, money and the right team of experts. Masterworks has very wisely decided on a more celebratory and pictorial show.

Much of the exhibition features appropriate works from the Masterworks Collection, plus a few other borrowed pieces.

The one element that stands out in the show, however, is a reconstruction of an actual Bermuda roof in various stages of finish, from the bare roof timbers, to a half finished section, that shows how the slate is laid, to finally, an entirely completed roof section.

The multipurpose Bermuda roof is unique. It has been said that it, along with the Bermuda rig, are the island's only indigenous art forms.

Other common features, such as, the "welcoming arm steps", chimneys, tray-ceilings, plus varying decorative elements, for example, keystones, eyebrows, quoins, Dutch or Flemish gables etc. can be found in varying styles, elsewhere.

The ingenious Bermuda roof evolved over the centuries and is noted not only for its weight, plus strength in high winds and durability, it is also a rain catchment and because it is painted white, it keeps the house cool, by means of reflecting the heat away.

Masterworks was correct to place the roof at centre stage.

The starting point of this show is at the entrance to the Butterfield Family Gallery, where we are introduced to an overview of the early colonial situation and how architecture evolved, especially during the 17th century.

Along with this introduction is a 1778 map of the island by Antonio Zatta, well known Italian cartographer and publisher and a watercolour that illustrates just how picturesque local architecture is. The latter, Pink Cottage of 1939, is by American artist, John Lavalle.

Regarding the picturesque, Canadian artist, John Lyman wrote in 1914, that "the old Bermudian dwelling has a charm quite independent of its definable architecture, the charm of setting, the charm of texture and surface, the charm of spontaneous design and proportion ... a tactile quality as though modelled by sculptor's hands.

Following the logical sequence of the exhibition, the next section is about materials, stone, quarrying and the making of lime. Its title is: Chip off the Block.

The process of quarrying stone is illustrated by three watercolours of men working the quarries. There is also a watercolour of a lime maker.

The three quarry artists are Ogden Pleissner, Kenwood Giles and Adolph Treidler. Actually the Treidler depicts a quarry, without people, there is, however, another Treidler quarry watercolour in the entrance lobby, that depicts a quarryman at work.

Keep an eye out for it. A notable watercolour, The Old Lime Kiln, by Bermudian artist Steven Masters is next, portraying one of the island's last lime makers, Orville Charles (Diver) Bascome, working his lime kiln at Ferry Reach, St. George's. Otto Trott's oil, entitled, Roof Builders, illustrates a group of masons actually laying slate.

As already said, Bermuda roofs are notably durable, so long as they are cared for. T

hey must be cleaned and lime washed regularly and Luca Gaspari's watercolour, All Done, depicts a man standing on the roof ridge, long handled brush in hand, having just finished the job of white washing the roof. The satisfied expression on his face and his erect posture is telling.

Along with these various paintings, there is an exhibit of all the various kinds of tools used in these traditional trades, such as quarry saws, chisels, plumb-bob etc.

Additionally, there is an older movie of stone quarrying, along with interviews of some of the man who worked them, using similar tools as seen on the wall.

The Gallery's north wall is devoted to general depictions of Bermuda house architecture, in varying painting styles. The two oil paintings by E. Ambrose Webster (1869-1935) are in his typical Fauvist technique, whereas, the two works by Jennifer Bartlett, are a pastel and a watercolour, that depict the Bermuda house as abstract.

She utilises varying marks of either brush or pastel stick, to express her views of a Bermuda house. The pastel is a night scene, the house aglow with light.

The east wall continues the exhibiting of houses, including more by Pleissner, also Tom Roberts, a Canadian who painted the Queen Street landmark, The Woolen Shop. The Niles Spencer, Houses, Bermuda (St. George's) 1929, is in his typical precisionist style.

Interestingly, the precisionists seem to have favoured Bermudian architecture and further on in this exhibition are other examples of this genre by Charles Demuth and Marsden Hartley.

Still on the east wall, there is a small group of paintings of lighthouses and churches. It is notable that these quite different building types should be grouped together, but in an island with an extensive nautical history and numerous shipwrecks, lighthouses are essential.

Additionally, there are possibly more churches per square mile in Bermuda than anywhere else. Given that light is a common metaphor for the spiritual, the combining of lighthouses and churches in this show, is not altogether incongruous.

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse is not only a well known landmark, it is also of significance in the history of prefabricated architecture.

Considering that subject, Tom Roberts is again represented with his 1982 oil painting, Spring Day, Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, while the 1825 watercolour of Somerset Church, by Thomas William Tucker is one of the oldest paintings in the show.

Both are in their own fashion, dealing with light. Another 19th century church painting is one of Old Devonshire Church by a little known artist, James R. Plummer. His watercolour is from 1885.

Bermuda's architecture is the product of climate, plus available materials. An essential element in the evolution of this building type is weather, notably storms. Without the fact of periodic hurricanes, it is unlikely that our architectural style would have ever developed the way it did.

It is appropriate that depictions of stormy weather be part of this exhibition. Notice Donald Kirkpatrick's Stormy Weather and Charles Hopkinson's Gray Day of 1940.

Of our public buildings, several stand out, notably the Cathedral, Parliament and Government House.

Malcolm Morley, a well-known English artist, has depicted the House of Assembly, while Albert Gleizes, renowned French cubist, painted several versions of Government House.

The exhibition continues through October 30, 2010.