Centennial of the Lyme Art Association Gallery
November 7, 2020 through
May 23, 2021
In 2021 we celebrated the Centennial of the Lyme Art Association Gallery. In August 1921, the Lyme Art Association (LAA) opened a permanent gallery in Old Lyme designed by architect Charles A. Platt. This exhibition commemorates the centennial of the building, which was conceived of and developed by artists who had formed a colony based next door at Florence Griswold’s boardinghouse beginning in 1900.
The Lyme Art Association’s inaugural exhibition in the gallery was also its twentieth annual show, which featured the work of Lyme Art Colony painters, past and present. It served as a reflection upon the colony’s first two decades and as a representation of contemporary directions in their art as Americans considered their identity in the aftermath of World War I.
Florence Griswold and artists of the Lyme Colony were key players in the design, funding, and construction of the gallery, an artist-run venue for the exhibition and sale of their work. Revisiting the origin of the LAA gallery on its centennial allows us to examine the economics of art and tourism, local history, the consequences of World War I, reactions to modernism, and even censorship, as the artists chose what and who should be represented in their bespoke exhibition space.
The initiative to establish a dedicated exhibition gallery cemented the Lyme Art Colony’s legacy. That spirit endures today both here and at our neighbor, the Lyme Art Association.
Alphonse Jongers (1872–1945), The Harpist, 1903, Oil on canvas, Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of the Lyme Art Association
Lucien Abrams, A Date Palm, Spring 1913. Tempera on board. Private Collection, Connecticut
Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Standing Female Nude, ca. 1920. Bronze, Florence Griswold Museum.
Lyme Art Association Gallery interior, 1921. Lyme Historical Society Archives at the Florence Griswold Museum
This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of Connecticut Humanities, HSB, The David T. Langrock Foundation, the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, Ms. Barbara Smith, Mr. Andy Baxter, Mr. Jon Cohen, The Vincent Dowling Family Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. J. Geddes Parsons, Bouvier Insurance, Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Booth, Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Cooley, Mr. David W. Dangremond, Mr. Frank W. Hamilton III, The George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation, Roy and Deborah Moore, Mr. & Mrs. Jeb N. Embree, Mr. & Mrs. Larry J. Lawrence, George & Jane Rapport, Mr. William Blunt White, Dr. Margaret O’Shea & Mr. Daniel O’Shea, Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Butler, Carolyn Wakeman & Robert Tierney, as well as donors to the Museum’s Annual Fund. Media Sponsor: Connecticut Public.
