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Wilson Henry Irvine and the Poetry of Light By Harold Spencer Softcover: 84 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1998) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9718-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9718-8 Product Size: 0.2 x 10 x 8.5 inches Although Irvine is chiefly remembered as a member of the Lyme Art Colony, much less understood is his prominent role in Chicago art circles prior to his move to Connecticut towards the end of World War I. The research accompanying Wilson Henry Irvine and the Poetry of Light clarifies the contributions of those early years and examines the life and art of Wilson Henry Irvine in the broader context of both regions. Relying on the artist’s diaries, sketchbooks, family correspondence, vital records, archival sources, and periodicals, together with the study of several hundred Irvine paintings, Harold Spencer has done a masterful job piecing together the strands of Irvine’s life and drawing attention to the artist’s considerable talents. This catalogue contains Spencer’s scholarly reexamination of Irvine’s work, 21 color plates, and 30 black and white illustrations. -
Miss Florence and the Artists of Old Lyme By Arthur Heming and illustrated by James Stevenson Hardcover: 96 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2022) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9724-5 ISBN-13: 978-1-880897-33-1 Product Size: 0.4 x 8 x 9.6 inches We are pleased to announce the third edition of Miss Florence and the Artists of Old Lyme by Arthur Heming. This updated edition adds 16 pages of text and photos compiled and written by Curator Amy Kurtz Lansing. The new information gives an overview of Miss Florence’s boardinghouse and the period rooms as well as a section on how today’s Florence Griswold Museum connects and celebrates the art, history, and nature of our area. Seven pages are dedicated to contemporary images of the site and highlights from the Museum’s collection. A ten-year veteran of the Lyme Art Colony, Arthur Heming achieved international success as a painter and writer. When he read of Miss Florence’s death in 1937, he chronicled his reminiscences of the Lyme Art Colony and her vanished era. His unpublished manuscript was lost for decades until it was unearthed in a box of old papers at the Griswold House. Heming’s story is a heartwarming recollection of a bygone age: a charming, firsthand account of Miss Florence, her wonderful old home, and the lives of creative artists and distinguished summer visitors such as Childe Hassam and Woodrow Wilson. -
Celebrating the addition of the Museum's 200th palette in 2019. For over fifteen years, visitors from across the region have admired the painted palettes on Miss Florence’s Artist Trees. The idea of contemporary artists creating paintings on artists’ palettes is a nod to the Museum’s history as the center for the Lyme Art Colony, and alludes to the door and wall panels the artists painted throughout Miss Florence’s boardinghouse over a century ago. The palette artists’ styles and subject matter are as varied as the individuals. Oils, acrylics, watercolors, ceramics, glass, and collage are used to transform the palettes into traditional holiday scenes, delightful landscapes, and more than a few surprises! Noted artists from across the country have donated works to this one-of-a-kind holiday icon. -
Childe Hassam in Connecticut By Kathleen M. Burnside Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1987) Product Size: 0.1 x 9 x 11.4 inches Between the late 1890s and the mid 1910s, Childe Hassam produced over 100 paintings, watercolors, pastels, and drawings of Connecticut landscapes. Regarded as the foremost impressionist chronicler of New England, Childe Hassam’s prolific body of work included evocative scenes from his time spent at the Holley House in Cos Cob and the Griswold House in Old Lyme. This catalogue accompanied a 1987 exhibition of Hassam’s work compiled by guest curator Kathleen M. Burnside. In her essay, Burnside presents a biographical timeline of Hassam’s life and work beginning with his 1880s studies of urban Boston and ending with his retirement to East Hampton, Long Island. Burnside also provides a comprehensive analysis of Hassam’s artistic influences, major works, techniques, and impressionist legacy. This catalogue includes 5 color plates and 10 black and white illustrations. -
A World Observed: The Art of Everett Longley Warner (1877-1963) By Helen K. Fusscas Softcover: 48 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum (1992) ISBN: 978-1-880897-10-2 Product Size: .187 x 8.5 x 11 inches This catalogue was published to accompany a traveling exhibition of the same name. It began at the Florence Griswold Museum (June 6 – August 9, 1992), went to Westmoreland Museum of Art (August 30 – October 25, 1992) and ended at the Center Gallery of Bucknell University (November 16, 1992 – January 26, 1993). Everett Longley Warner was an artist whose life was devoted to the exploration of visual phenomena in the broadest possible terms. During his singular career, he not only produced an impressive body of paintings, watercolors, and etchings, but he worked as an art critic; wrote persuasively about the science of perspective and optics as applied to such varied subjects as highway markings and gallery lighting; served his country during both world wars designing naval camouflage; and distinguished himself as a fine teacher. Features historic photos of Warner throughout his life along with 38 black and white images, and 10 full color plates. -
The California Impressionists at Laguna By Jack Becker with an essay by William H. Gerdts Softcover: 40 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (2000) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9720-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9720-1 Product Size: 0.1 x 8 x 10.4 inches The California Impressionists at Laguna examines the accomplishments of a group of American painters who were part of an art colony in the coastal community of Laguna Beach, some fifty miles south of Los Angeles. Artists were drawn there by the region’s spectacular scenery, its quality of light, and by a climate that was ideally suited to painting en plein air year-round. Off the beaten track, Laguna was an unspoiled, captivating place that fostered one of the major centers of American Impressionism in the early decades of the 20th century. Some 3,000 miles away, at roughly the same time, another art colony and center of Impressionism flourished in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Woven throughout this exhibition catalogue is the conviction that there is much to be gained by a focused comparison between these two chosen destinations for American artists. Interspersed with 25 color plates and 8 black and white figures, the principal essay explores thematic and stylistic parallels and illustrates how each colony helped to construct an identity for its region that lingers in the imagination today. -
Rum Runners, Governors, Beachcombers & Socialists: Views of the Beaches in Old Lyme By Jim Lampos & Michaelle Pearson Softcover: 88 pages Publisher: Old Lyme Historical Society (2010) ISBN: Product Size: .25 x 9.25 x 9.5 inches Written by Old Lyme residents Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson, Rum Runners is an intricately researched, intriguing exploration of the beach communities from Griswold Point in the west to Point O’ Woods in the east. Illustrations include a map of the Old Lyme shoreline, decades-old newspaper clippings and postcards, along with original photographs. -
Thistles & Crowns: The Painted Chests of the Connecticut Shore By Benjamin Colman Softcover: 72 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2014) ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9726-3 Product Size: 0.25 x 9 x 11 inches Published on the occasion of the 2014 exhibition Thistles & Crowns: The Painted Chests of the Connecticut Shore and written by former Florence Griswold Museum Assistant Curator Benjamin Colman, this catalogue provides a permanent scholarly contribution and encourages further study of this tradition in Connecticut’s material culture. Thistles & Crowns: The Painted Chests of the Connecticut Shore presents a new perspective on an important vernacular tradition in New England furniture making. Following his extensive study of the iconography and construction of the chests, and a careful review of the existing published record, archival sources, and regional history, Benjamin Colman argues persuasively that the stories of their creation, decoration, use, and histories are a good deal more complex than previously thought. Embellished with 74 full-color illustrations, the catalogue stands on its own as a significant contribution to the scholarship of American material culture. -
Henry Ward Ranger and the Humanized Landscape By Jack Becker Softcover: 64 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum (1999) ISBN: 1-880897-19-9 Product Size: .187 x 10 x 8.5 inches One of Henry Ward Ranger’s principle legacies was his role as the founder of the Lyme Art Colony in Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1899. A century later, it seemed especially fitting to organize a retrospective exhibition in the very place where the Colony originated. As a subject for study, Ranger is an extraordinary figure, presenting all the facets of a rough-cut jewel. He was, in equal measure, an American artist who enjoyed extensive success in his day, an entertaining if somewhat obstinate writer, a talented musician, a charismatic leader of other artists, and a tastemaker upon whose opinions major American collectors implicitly relied. Features historic photos of Ranger throughout his life along with 18 black and white images, and 17 full color plates. -
Thomas W. Nason: New England Virtues Aged in Wood By Charles Price Softcover: 61 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1993) ISBN: 1-880897-03-02 Product size: .25 x 6 x 9 inches This book was printed in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title at the Florence Griswold Museum from October 1, 1993 through January 16, 1994. It is said that this publication affords the reader the chance to review in a comprehensive manner, the life and career of this important American artist whose exquisitely textured engravings of silos, farmhouses, and rolling pastures convey the poetic essence of the New England Landscape. Features several historic photos of Nason and his studio as well as many illustrations of his engravings. -
Visions of Mood: Pastels of Henry C. White By Amy Kurtz Lansing Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2009) ISBN-13: 978-0-6152-8439-2 Product Size: 0.1 x 10.5 x 8.5 inches This exhibition catalogue explores an important aspect of the career of the American artist Henry Cooke White (1861-1952). While his oil paintings are widely admired by collectors and museums, his accomplishments in pastel are less well known; and yet, they are breathtaking in their variety, intensity of color, and, at times, abstract boldness. Here is a new side of White’s art making, in which he experimented with color and texture while working out-of-doors. Amy Kurtz Lansing has skillfully undertaken not only to select pastel works from among hundreds of examples, but to discern their meaning to the artist’s career. This catalogue features a remembrance by the artist’s grandson, painter Nelson H. White, an essay by the curator, and a portfolio of 21 color illustrations. -
By Jennifer Stettler Parsons $75.00 Hardcover: 204 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum ISBN-13: 978-1-64657-025-6 This beautifully designed volume explores Sherwood’s multimedia adventures in cross-species communication. The first monograph on Dana Sherwood (born 1977), this book showcases the New York artist’s pioneering experiments with cross-species communication. Her films, sculpture installations and paintings engage discussions around the environment, global food chains, the rapid growth of social media, feminism, animal studies and spirituality. Featuring a tipped-on cover image, metallic embossing and various page sizes and paper stocks, this book expands upon these themes, with essays and documentation of paintings, film stills and recipe and sketchbook facsimiles. Generously illustrated sections of plates are followed by a chronology of the artist’s career to date and a checklist of works. With contributions by Tamar Adler, Amy Kurtz Lansing, Petra Lange-Berndt, Celeste Olalquiaga, Dana Sherwood, Li Sumpter, and Cary Wolfe. -
Lyme in Mind: The Clement C. Moore Collection By Amy Kurtz Lansing and Amanda C. Burdan Softcover: 64 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2009) ISBN-13: 978-0-6152-8438-5 Product Size: 0.25 x 9 x 11 inches This catalog accompanied a 2009 exhibition of the collection of longtime Florence Griswold Museum trustee Clement C. Moore. Lyme in Mind: The Clement C. Moore Collection features major works by the most notable members of the Lyme Art Colony, including: Childe Hassam, Edmund Greacen, William Chadwick, Frank Vincent DuMond, Harry Hoffman, Willard Metcalf, Ivan Olinsky, and Henry Ward Ranger. The collection conveys Moore’s deeply felt appreciation for the Connecticut landscape, an affinity he shares with the Lyme Art Colony painters who first visited the state more than a century ago. This catalogue presents 26 full color illustrations and an interview with the collector conducted by curator Amy Kurtz Lansing. Also included are biographical and scholarly entries pertaining to selected works, written by former curatorial fellow Amanda C. Burdan. -
Flora/Fauna: The Naturalist Impulse in American Art By Jennifer Stettler Parsons with essays by Ellery Foutch and Amy Kurtz Lansing $24.95 (cover image: Harry Hoffman, A Coral Cave) Softcover: 120 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum ISBN-13: 978-1-880897-30-0 Product Size: .33 x 9 x 10.75 inches At the heart of the Florence Griswold Museum’s collection stands a tall mahogany chest containing twenty-eight drawers filled with treasures. The contents make up the naturalist collection preserved by the American Impressionist Willard Metcalf, who gathered many of his specimens during summer visits to Florence Griswold’s boardinghouse between 1905 and 1907. Inspired by the Museum’s extensive collection of his work, this exhibition places Metcalf’s dual practice of art-making and natural history within the larger context of American art history. Flora/Fauna surveys the history of artist-naturalists and environmentally-conscious artists in the United States from the dawn of the 19th century through the mid-20th century. Together, their works reveal the great diversity and evolution of the ‘naturalist impulse’—the artist’s interest in natural history—across time. Since the country’s founding, artists have participated in forging an American natural history as explorers, collectors, close observers, cataloguers, and early environmentalists. They originated, developed, and challenged notions of nature’s proper scientific and aesthetic representation, and then translated those concerns into fine art. Stemming from the Lyme Art Colony’s history, a large portion of this display emphasizes art produced in Connecticut. This vantage point is appropriate, for one of the main factors motivating urban artists’ visits to rural Connecticut was the opportunity to commune with nature, often at art colonies. This exhibition is a timely endeavor as we think about our role on this fragile planet, and what we leave for future generations. Works in the exhibition reveal how artistic production has corresponded with social developments in American history, from an early concern with establishing a national identity distinct from Europe; to reflecting Americans’ shifting philosophies on evolution and the human relationship to the environment; to the growth of the conservation movement in the United States. -
Sewell Sillman: Pushing Limits By Amanda C. Burdan and Mary Emma Harris Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2010) ISBN-10: 0-6153-3716-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-6153-3716-6 Product Size: 0.1 x 9.5 x 9.5 inches Sewell Sillman: Pushing Limits documents a groundbreaking exhibition of 20th century artist Sewell Sillman (1924-1992). This exhibition catalogue features Sillman’s graceful abstract drawings and watercolors alongside the powerful color studies created in collaboration with his mentor, Josef Albers. Over the decades of their work together, Sillman absorbed Albers’ approach to color, design, drawing, and education, bringing these lessons to bear on his own art and teaching. Mary Emma Harris delves into Sillman’s studies at Black Mountain College, analyzing his artistic inspirations, techniques, and experiences. Amanda C. Burdan subsequently documents the changing trajectory and artistic growth of Sillman’s career, beginning with his roots at Black Mountain College, moving to his Yale studies and teaching career, his subsequent artistic partnerships, and to his final innovations at his home in Lyme, Connecticut. In addition to the two essays, this illustrated catalogue contains 12 color plates, 14 additional images, and an artist chronology. -
Rudolph Scheffler (1884-1973) By Peter Hastings Falk Softcover: 48 pages Publisher: Sound View Press (1989) ISBN: 0-932087-06-X Product Size: .187 x 8.5 x 11 inches Accompanying a retrospective exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum (April 14 – June 4, 1989). Rudolf Scheffler, although largely forgotten today, once had a considerable reputation, both in America and his native Germany, as an architectural muralist and craftsman. After emigrating to this country in 1924, Scheffler established a studio in Brooklyn, New York. For the next twenty years he produced a remarkable variety of murals, mosaics, and works in stained glass for public buildings throughout the United States. Soon after his arrival in the country, Scheffler discovered the artists’ colony at Old Lyme and bought a summer cottage in Lyme. There he enjoyed the freedom of painting a more private world — his luxuriant garden and the surroundings beyond. Features historic photos of Scheffler throughout his life along with 48 color and black and white images. -
May Night: Willard Metcalf at Old Lyme By Bruce W. Chambers with an essay by Amy Ellis and entries by Emily M. Weeks Softcover: 144 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2005) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9722-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9722-5 Product Size: 0.5 x 9 x 11 inches Willard Leroy Metcalf (1858-1925), perhaps America’s most important Impressionist landscape painter, spent only three summers living and working at the Lyme Art Colony. Though only a brief episode in what would ultimately be a fifty-year career, the landscapes Metcalf created at Old Lyme were acclaimed by critics, sought out by collectors and museums, and central to his subsequent reputation as a major figure in American art. This catalogue accompanied the 2005 exhibition, May Night: Willard Metcalf at Old Lyme, referring to Metcalf’s most famous painting, a moonlit view of the Griswold House that earned the artist his first national prize. This full-color catalogue contains 16 plates and 55 illustrations exploring the union of Metcalf’s art with his deep knowledge of the natural world. Home to the largest public collection of Metcalf’s work, the Florence Griswold Museum has collaborated with guest curator Bruce W. Chambers to produce this scholarly discussion of the life and work of a highly influential artist.
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Harry L. Hoffman: A World of Color By Jeffrey W. Andersen $14.00 (Softcover) Softcover: 89 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1988) Product Size: 0.25 x 8.5 x 10.8 inches $19.00 (Hardcover) Hardcover: 89 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1988) Product Size: 0.5 x 8.75 x 11.3 inches Few subjects escaped the attention of Harry Hoffman. His work spans several continents—from landscapes of remote Spanish villages to seasonal views of New England; from market scenes of Savannah, Georgia to the dramatic volcanic terrain of the Galapagos Islands—and reveal a lengthy career of artistic exploration. Hoffman’s unflagging curiosity for varying forms of nature led him in 1916 to begin painting what are perhaps his best-known works—a series of undersea paintings of the coral reefs in the Bahamas. This catalogue accompanied a 1988 exhibition of Hoffman at the Florence Griswold Museum, examining the life and work of an artist noted for his joie de vivre and for his artistic versatility. Alongside the scholarly text are 29 color plates, 40 black and white illustrations, and a unique color frontispiece on vellum. -
Peter Halley: Big Paintings By Benjamin Colman Softcover: 17 pages Publisher: Florence Griswold Museum (2015) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9727X ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9727-0 Product Size: 0.25 x 8.5 x 10.6 inches This unique catalogue accompanied the 2015 exhibit Peter Halley: Big Paintings at the Florence Griswold Museum. By looking at a selection of Halley's largest paintings from the span of his career, this publication examines how his distinctive geometric iconography emerged and evolved from the 1980s to the present day. Alongside a critical essay by Benjamin Colman and an excerpt from Halley's seminal essay "On Line" (1985), Big Paintings includes meticulous digital prints of the nine monumental paintings that were included in the exhibition. This catalogue consists of 8 pages softbound with 9 loose full-color digital prints in a die-cut box. -
Clark G. Voorhees (1871-1933) By Barbara J. MacAdam Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum (1981) ISBN: 978-1-880897-13-3 Product Size: .187 x 8.5 x 10.5 inches This catalogue was published to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the Florence Griswold Museum (June 13 – August 30, 1981). Clark Voorhees felt a close identification both with Old Lyme and its artist community. Clark G. Voorhees (1871-1933) presents a selection of paintings, drawings, and etchings produced during a career that spans approximately forty years. The majority are landscape subjects depicting three areas that the artist loved to paint and among which he sought to divide his time: Old Lyme; Lenox, Massachusetts; and Somerset, Bermuda. Like most American landscapists of this period, Voorhees was strongly influenced by the closely related Barbazon, Tonalist, and Impressionist styles. Features historic photos of Voorhees throughout his life along with 21 black and white images, and 4 full color plates. -
Faces of Change: The Art of Ivan G. Olinsky By Hildegard Cummings Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut Storrs, and Lyme Historical Society, Inc., Florence Griswold Museum (1995) ISBN: 1-880897-05-9 Product Size: .187 x 8.5 x 11 inches This catalogue was published to accompany a traveling exhibition of the same name. It began at the William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut Storrs (June 20 – August 22, 1995), and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum (September 8, 1995 – October 29, 1995). Ivan Olinsky made an impressive entry into the New York art world of the 1910’s. He was not exactly a newcomer, because he had been an assistant to the eminent muralist and stained-glass designer John La Farge (1835-1910), but it was as though he had been invisible all that time. This catalogue focuses on the whole of Olinsky’s solo art career with a special essay dedicated to his work in Venice. Features historic photos of Olinsky throughout his life along with 21 black and white images, and 8 full color plates.
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The Lymes’ Heritage Cookbook Edited by Elizabeth Meriwether Schuler Softcover: 306 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (1991) Product Size: 0.8 x 6 x 9 inches Old Lyme and Lyme, two towns at the mouth of the Connecticut River, were basically agricultural communities until recent years. In keeping with that tradition, the Lyme Historical Society presents this beautiful and nostalgic cookbook, illustrated with the bucolic works of Thomas Nason (1889-1971), a Lyme resident for more than 30 years. With over 500 recipes and thoroughly indexed for ease of use, this cookbook is a carefully chosen collection of favorite recipes that will appeal to both expert and novice cooks. Emphasis is on New England dishes, some very old, that are adapted to modern tastes, cooking methods, and ingredients. All recipes have been tested and are introduced with a few descriptive words that tell something about the area, its history, people, and the environment. In addition, there are three special chapters on activities that were typical of the area—shad bakes, smoking bluefish, and cooking in beehive ovens. If you like to cook, this book offers enticing, easily followed, accurate recipes and delightful reading about life in the Lymes today and in years gone by.
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The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture Smith By Marilyn Nelson Softcover: 32 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society (2006) ISBN-10: 1-8808-9723-7 ISBN-13: 978-1-8808-9723-2 Product Size: 0.5 x 9 x 10.5 inches This catalogue tells the true narrative of a slave from Africa, crafted in verse by Marilyn Nelson. Born an African prince, Broteer Furro was captured by slave traders at age six. As he boarded a cargo ship, the vessel's steward purchased the boy and gave him a new name: Venture. He landed in Rhode Island and worked through a lifetime of slavery to buy not only his own freedom, but also the freedom of his wife and children. Remarkable in his own time for his ambition and physical stature, Venture Smith became history's first man to document both his capture from Africa and life as an American slave. This catalogue accompanied a 2006-2007 exhibition of The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture Smith at the Florence Griswold Museum. This volume features 14 original poems by Marilyn Nelson paired with Impressionist paintings from the Museum’s collection that retell the remarkable life of Venture Smith. -
Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915 Edited by Katherine M. Bourguignon with essays by Nina Lubbren, Kathleen Pyne and Margaret Werth Softcover: 224 pages Publisher: Terra Foundation for American Art (April 7, 2007) ISBN-10: 0-9321-7152-4 ISBN-13: 978-0-9321-7152-8 Product Size: 0.5 x 9.2 x 11.75 inches In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, artists from America and across Europe flocked to the French village of Giverny, transforming it from a sleepy hamlet to a colorful and thriving artists’ community. A lavishly illustrated scholarly catalogue, Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915 evokes the longevity of impressionism and highlights the role Giverny played in the movement’s ascendance, placing it in the context of other European artists’ colonies of its era. Making use of reproductions of period postcards, paintings, photographs, and previously unpublished documents, editor Katherine M. Bourguignon traces the evolution of the impressionist style in this idyllic and international setting. Fellow contributors address the interactions of the artists of Giverny with Monet, the utopian experiment of a collective artistic enterprise, the emergence of the rural innkeeper as a new class of patron, and the American impressionists who, inspired by their experience in France, often formed artists’ colonies back in the United States and participated in the ongoing tradition of French-American cultural exchange. -
Revolution in the Lymes By Jim Lampos & Michaelle Pearson Softcover: 160 pages Publisher: The History Press (2016) ISBN: 978-1-46713-596-2 Product Size: .25 x 6 x 9 inches The Revolutionary War in the Lymes started as a rebellion of ideas. From its origins in the Cromwellian Saybrook Colony, Lyme (today's Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme and Salem) prospered under the free hand of self-governance and spurned King George III's efforts to rein in the wayward colonies. In 1765, Reverend Stephen Johnson wrote incendiary missives against the Stamp Act. A few years later, the town hosted its own Tea Party, burning one hundred pounds of British tea near the town green. When the alarm came from Lexington in 1775, Lyme's citizens were among the first to answer. Historians Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson explore how local Patriots shaped an epic revolt. -
With their images of the historic Florence Griswold House and the Museum's landscape and collections the artists in the exhibition In Place produced an extraordinary diverse body of work that resonates with historical allusion, poetic suggestion, poignancy, ironic humor, and genuine affection for the signifcance of this historic site. Collectively, they have given all of us a new way of thinking about the Museum and, more broadly, about the ongoing relationship of certain places to artistic creativity.Fans of the Museum will savor this catalogue as a keepsake picture book that captures not only this very special exhibition, but the entire historic site at this point in time.In Place: Contemporary Photographers Envision a Museum features the work of photographers Tina Barney, Marion Belanger, Adrien Broom, Kate Cordsen, Peter Daitch, Alida Fish, Ted Hendrickson, Sophie T. Lvoff, James Welling, and Tom Zetterstrom. -
Connecticut Masters Edited by Gordon Bowman $65.00 Hardcover: 271 pages Publisher: Eastern Press (1991) Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-076107 Product Size: 1 x 9.5 x 9.8 inches Connecticut Masters showcases an exceptional collection of Connecticut art and furniture, gifted to the Florence Griswold Museum by The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company in 2001. Alongside more than 150 images, this exquisite volume features short descriptions, artist biographies, and full-page details of selected works. The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company embodied the spirit of American corporations that support, encourage and preserve art. Beginning with its furniture collection in 1978, the company continued curating a collection of quintessentially Connecticut fine arts and furniture until its dissolution in 2001. Notable artists in this volume include: Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, William Chadwick, Matilda Browne, Henry Ward Ranger, Frederic Church, and Thomas Cole. Selected pieces from The Hartford Steam Boiler Collection are currently on display at the Florence Griswold Museum. -
Object Lessons in American Art Edited by Karl Kusserow Contributions by Horace D. Ballard, Kirsten Pai Buick, Ellery E. Foutch, Rebecca Zorach, Karl Kusserow, Jeffrey Richmond-Moll Paperback Price: $55.00 ISBN: 9780691978857 Published: Mar 28, 2023 Copyright: 2023 Pages: 200 Object Lessons in American Art explores a diverse gathering of Euro-American, Native American, and African American art from a range of contemporary perspectives, illustrating how innovative analysis of historical art can inform, enhance, and afford new relevance to artifacts of the American past. The book is grounded in the understanding that the meanings of objects change over time, in different contexts, and as a consequence of the ways in which they are considered. Inspired by the concept of the object lesson, the study of a material thing or group of things in juxtaposition to convey embodied and underlying ideas, Object Lessons in American Art examines a broad range of art from Princeton University’s venerable collections as well as contemporary works that imaginatively appropriate and reframe their subjects and style, situating them within current social, cultural, and artistic debates on race, gender, the environment, and more. -
The Last Years of Walker Evans By Jerry L. Thompson Hardcover: 127 pages Publisher: Thames and Hudson (1997) ISBN: 0-500-54210-4 Product Size: .75 x 6.5 x 9.25 inches In 1971, when the author enrolled in the Yale School of Art as an aspiring photographer, his principal aim was to learn all he could from one of the leading and most admired American photographers of this century, Walker Evans. Once Evans accepted Jerry Thompson as a student, they developed an extremely close working relationship as well as a personal friendship. At Yale, at Evans's Connecticut home in Old Lyme, and during a number of field trips to other parts of the country, Thompson was always close at hand, helping in the darkroom, fetching and carrying, mounting prints for exhibitions, driving, dealing with the archives that were the accumulation of almost forty years of work, and absorbing all the time what Evans, always articulate, had to say about his interests, his intellectual curiosity, and the basis of his approach to the art of photography. By the time Evans's health deteriorated and he died in 1975, Thompson had become deeply involved with his idol, learning as much about Evans's foibles and eccentricities as he did about the man's genius. As a result, Thompson's account of those last four years gives us a precious insight into the mind and sensibilities of a great man. To remind the reader of some of Evans's most famous photographs, a number of them are reproduced here, along with informal photographs of him at home, and a sampling of his late interest in color Polaroid photography, published for the first time. In combination with an unusually sensitive text, this is a book of great interest not only to photographers and those interested in photography, but to all who respond to biography and the analysis of character. Features 35 illustrations, 8 in color. -
Remarkable Women of Old Lyme By Jim Lampos & Michaelle Pearson Softcover: 144 pages Publisher: The History Press (2015) ISBN: 978-1-62619-790-9 Product Size: .25 x 6 x 9 inches Old Lyme's illustrious history owes much to innovative women. Suffragist Katharine Ludington was co-founder of the League of Women Voters. In the 1830s, Phoebe Griffin Noyes started a school for art and general subjects. At the turn of the twentieth century, Florence Griswold welcomed the artists of the Lyme Art Colony by creating the "Birthplace of American Impressionism." By World War II, Teddy Kenyon had made her mark as a test pilot. Old Lyme's artistic tradition was continued by Elisabeth Gordon Chandler, who founded the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 1976. Authors Michaelle Pearson and Jim Lampos honor the women whose triumphs made Old Lyme the popular summer resort and artists' colony it is today. -
Edward F. Rook (1870-1960): American Impressionist By Diane Pietrucha Fischer Softcover: 31 pages Publisher: Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum (1987) ISBN: 978-1-880897-14-0 Product Size: .125 x 9.5 x 8.75 inches This publication was printed to correspond with the exhibition of the same name at the Florence Griswold Museum, March 14 through May 24, 1987. This retrospective was the first one to deal fully with the life and Work of Edward F. Rook. Both the catalogue and the exhibition represent all phases of the artist’s varied career, from his Impressionistic Old Lyme Landscapes and Japanese-inspired still lifes to his earlier moonlit scenes of Brittany and richly colored views of Mexico. Features historic photos of Rook throughout his life along with 15 black and white images, and 7 full color plates. -
Bessie Potter Vonnoh: Sculptor of Women Catalogue By Julie Aronson with an essay by Janis Conner $40.00 (Softcover) Softcover: 287 pages Publisher: Ohio University Press (October 14, 2008) ISBN-10: 0-8214-1801-7 ISBN-13: 978-0-8214-1801-7 Product Size: 0.9 x 8.5 x 11 inches Hardcover: 287 pages Publisher: Ohio University Press (October 14, 2008) ISBN-10: 0-8214-1800-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-8214-1800-0 Product Size: 1.1 x 8.75 x 11.5 inches Bessie Potter Vonnoh: Sculptor of Women provides an intimate and engaging encounter with one of the most widely respected sculptors of her day. Her work commanded admiration for her fluid and suggestive modeling, graceful lines, and sculptural form. In the principal essay, Julie Aronson explores how, by concentrating on sculpture for domestic settings that expertly combined naturalism with elegance, Vonnoh negotiated a male-dominated field to create a pathway to professional success and made high-quality sculpture accessible to a wider audience. In an essay that examines Vonnoh’s relationship with her foundries and scrutinizes bronze castings, Janis Conner demystifies baffling issues of authenticity and quality in turn-of-the-century bronzes. This copiously illustrated book, indispensable for all sculpture enthusiasts, accompanied the first exhibition since 1930 dedicated to the art of Bessie Potter Vonnoh.
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Paperback: 80 pages Publisher: Perennial Designs (2010) Product Size: 8 x .25 x 10 inches From the foreword by Rev. Carleen R. Gerber The series of sermons which form the main text of this commemorative book were first conceived and delivered by the Rev. David W. Good in the early months of the year 2010, as the celebration of the 100th anniversary of our beloved Fifth Meetinghouse began. David’s great appreciation for the arts and his love of history have come together to form a fitting tribute to this Meetinghouse which has, for one hundred years, been the place where so many families have brought their hearts’ greatest joy as well as their deepest sorrows. It is within this beloved Meetinghouse that we have found the source of strength and love that knits us together as a community of faith; and it is from within this beloved Meetinghouse that we have found the inspiration and courage to venture forth into the world to carry the mantle of ministry Jesus the Christ first proclaimed: “to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind; to let the broken victims go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18,19). Many scans of original archival documents along with color reproductions of several paintings help illustrate this publication. -
Rough Passage to London: A Sea Captain’s Tale By Robin Lloyd $24.95 Hardcover: 376 pages Publisher: Sheridan House (2013) ISBN: 978-1574093209 Product size: 1 x 6.5 x 9 inches Lyme, Connecticut, early nineteenth century. Elisha Ely Morgan is a young farm boy who has witnessed firsthand the terror of the War of 1812. Troubled by a tumultuous home life ruled by the fists of their tempestuous father, Ely's two older brothers have both left their pastoral boyhoods to seek manhood through sailing. One afternoon, the Morgan family receives a letter with the news that one brother is lost at sea; the other is believed to be dead. Scrimping as much savings as a farm boy can muster, Ely spends nearly every penny he has to become a sailor on a square-rigged ship, on a route from New York to London—a route he hopes will lead to his vanished brother, Abraham. Learning the brutal trade of a sailor, Ely takes quickly to sea-life, but his focus lies with finding Abraham. Following a series of cryptic clues regarding his brother's fate, Ely becomes entrenched in a mystery deeper than he can imagine. As he feels himself drawing closer to an answer, Ely climbs the ranks to become a captain, experiences romance, faces a mutiny, meets Queen Victoria, and befriends historical legends such as Charles Dickens in his raucous quest.
In the spirit of the Lyme Art Colony, the Florence Griswold Museum welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to get up close and personal with the art of Connecticut.
AFFILIATES:
video detail: Courtney Mattison, Malum Geminos, 2019. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 84 x 250 x 22 in.; Courtney Mattison, Afterglow (Our Changing Seas VI), 2018. Glazed stoneware and porcelain, 90.5 x 102 x 19.5 in., Courtesy of the artist; Photograph by Paul Mutino
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In the spirit of the Lyme Art Colony, FloGris welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds to get up close and personal with the art of Connecticut.
AFFILIATES: