Florence Griswold Museum

In 2001, the museum acquired the corporate collection of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, once the world's largest insurer against equipment breakdown. The collection included 157 oil paintings, 31 works on paper and 2 works of sculpture, all Connecticut-related. In 2018, the museum appointed Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D. to be the museum's Director, succeeding Jeffrey W. Andersen, who led the museum for 41 years. Beaulieu holds a bachelor's degree in American Studies from George Washington University, a master's degree in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a master's degree in Arts Administration from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies from Boston University. Joshua Campbell Torrance is the museum's Executive Director. Collection highlights: • Milton Avery, East Hartford Meadow, 1922 • Frederic Church, The Charter Oak at Hartford, 1846 • Childe Hassam, Summer Evening (A Woman at the Window), 1886 • David Johnson, View of Greenwich, Connecticut, 1878 • John F. Kensett, Shore of Darien, Connecticut, 1872 • Harlan Page (painter), Portrait of a Man, 1815 • Edward Francis Rook, Laurel, 1905-10 • Gurdon Trumbull, Black Bass, 1872 • John Ferguson Weir, East Rock, New Haven, 1901 • Edwin White, The Fisher Boy, 1840 • Matilda Browne, Peonies, ca. 1907 • Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Jessie Wilson, 1912–13 Works by Emil Carlsen, Charles Ebert, Bruce Crane and Willard Metcalf. File:Summer Evening Frederick Childe Hassam 1886.jpeg|Summer Evening, oil on canvas, Childe Hassam, 1886 File:John Ferguson Weir - East Rock, New Haven (c.1901).jpg|East Rock, New Haven, oil on canvas, John Ferguson Weir, 1901 File:Willard Leroy Metcalf - Thawing Brook (1911).jpg|Thawing Brook, oil on canvas, Williard Metcalf, 1911 File:Charter Oak FEChurch.jpeg|The Charter Oak at Hartford, oil on canvas, Frederic Church, 1846 ==Florence Griswold House==

The Florence Griswold House in Old Lyme, Connecticut was a boardinghouse run by Florence Griswold, where American Impressionist artists lived and painted—often directly on the walls and doors of the house. The building is now part of the campus of the Florence Griswold Museum. The house was designated a National Historic Landmarks in 1993. '' (1906) by Willard Metcalf, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. This depicts the Florence Griswold House. Leading artists of the Old Lyme Art Colony who stayed at the boardinghouse were Henry Ward Ranger, Edward Charles Volkert, Childe Hassam, and Willard Metcalf. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and his family dined with "Miss Florence" and the artists in the house. Old Lyme resident Harry Hoffman helped to save Griswold's house through a fund-raising campaign so that it could be converted into a Museum. Appearance and Layout ''I saw a charming house that appeared like a Roman temple among the trees. Admiringly, I beheld the broad steps surmounted by four huge ionic columns that towered to the roof and formed a magnificent adornment to the mansion's front, the handsome old doorway of which stood hospitably open.'' — Arthur Heming, artist of the Lyme Art Colony Matilda Browne was the only female artist invited to contribute a panel and was given a place of honor: Miss Florence's own bedroom door. Life at the Lyme Art Colony Miss Florence's bedroom was her only private space in the house and is furnished today with memories of her life: books, art, gifts, and letters from many of the artists who became her lifelong friends. The entire rest of the first floor and the two upstairs floors of the house were taken up by her artist-boarders (and several resident cats.) Most of the artists traveled by train from New York or Boston along the Connecticut shore to Miss Florence's. During the day, artists would paint en plein air on the grounds by the Lieutenant River, in the apple orchard, or other nearby bucolic landscapes. Often cattle and other wildlife were brought in as subjects from local farms for the artists to paint from life. In the evenings, after boisterous dinners held in the dining room or on the side porch when indoor air became too stuffy, groups retired to the parlor for music, games, and entertainment. In their invented "Wiggle Game," an artist would draw a small number of lines (or "wiggles") on a piece of paper to be completed by a fellow artist into a finished drawing. Childe Hassam famously called a visit to Old Lyme and Miss Florence's "an excursion to Bohemia," and "just the place for high-thinking and low-living." == Gardens and Grounds ==

Historic Gardens The 12-acre site is home to historic gardens tended and maintained by staff and volunteers, populated with historic flowers, herbs, vegetables, and plants. Behind the house there were four distinct gardens: one for herbs and produce such as strawberries, lettuce, peas, corn, and potatoes; one for roses; and two for flowers, which Miss Florence also sold to make ends meet. The Museum is a member of Connecticut's Historic Gardens, an organization which celebrates the diversity of gardens at distinctive historic homes throughout the state of Connecticut. Robert F. Schumann Artists' Trail In July 2019, the Museum opened the Robert F. Schumann Artists' Trail, a series of walking paths, landscaping features, and native plantings around the historic site. The four distinct walks (the river, hedgerow, woodland, and garden) encompass 0.5 miles in length and give modern day visitors an understanding of why artists were drawn to paint en plein air on the landscape. Markers designate sites of historic importance, such as the location of Childe Hassam's studio in the orchard. Funding from the Robert F. Schumann Foundation supported the project. Chadwick Studio American Impressionist William Chadwick (1879-1962) was an artist of the Lyme Art Colony and Old Lyme resident. From about 1920 until his death in 1962, the structure now on Museum Campus served as his artist's studio. This building is open to visitors the first Saturday in April through December. == See also ==