Cow Tales
Inspired by the Museum’s extensive collection of animal paintings by Lyme Art Colony (1900–1937) artists, Cow Tales will explore the subject of cows as compelling subject matter through over 30 artworks and artifacts ranging from the mid-19th century to the present. The exhibition builds on the Museum’s online learning resource Hauling & Harrowing: Edward Volkert and the Connecticut Farm. Like the virtual exhibition, which compiles and analyzes Volkert’s depictions of agriculture from the 1910s–1930s, works in Cow Tales reveal (and conceal!) the era’s complex transition from animal-powered to industrial farming. The exhibition examines the historic and contemporary tensions evoked by cows through examples by artists such as George Henry Durrie, Aaron Draper Shattuck, William Henry Howe, Matilda Browne, Edward Volkert, Bernard Chaet, Tina Barney, Judy Friday, and Brian Keith Stephens.
William Henry Howe (1846–1929), Repose, September Days in Normandy, 1888–89. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 51 1/4 in. Florence Griswold Museum, David W. and Mary S. Dangremond Acquisitions Fund
Brian Keith Stephens, Visit Your Neighbor I (left) and Visit Your Neighbor II (right), 2025. Oil and wax on cotton, 46 x 70 in. Courtesy of the artist
Edward C. Volkert (1871–1935), Harrowing, ca. 1929. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of George C. Lay
Bernard Chaet (1924–2012), Pastoral, 1959. Oil on canvas, 42 x 50 in. Florence Griswold Museum, Purchase
This exhibition is made possible with the generous support of HSB, John and Barbara Hazeltine, Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, as well as donors to the Exhibition Fund and the Annual Fund.
