The Old Garden, c. 1912
Oil on canvas
Gift of Mrs. Edmund Greacen, Jr. 1974.1

In the spirit of the Colonial Revival, Edmund Greacen celebrates the “old-fashioned” garden, a prime example of which was to be found on the grounds of Florence Griswold’s house. Such gardens were filled, as countless books and articles put it, with the kinds of quaint perennial and biennial flowers “that grandmother grew.” Reacting against commercialism and industrialization, old-fashioned gardens set aside the showy, structured displays of annuals popular in the mid-nineteenth century in favor of informal plantings of unpretentious beauty.

As one garden writer described, “It is the charm of the old garden, as well as its form and plants, which we are seeking to recall…and this charm lies in the ancient estimate of homely, simple things at their true high worth.” In his rendition of Miss Florence’s garden, Greacen paints in a vague impressionistic style. His soft brushwork and melting colors are key to establishing the dreamy, nostalgic mood necessary to appreciate the old garden.