A regional museum expands. (Current and Coming).(Brief Article)

Old Lyme, Connecticut, on the Lieutenant River, was the site of an important art colony for American impressionist painters. It has also inspired artists of many other kinds thanks to its natural beauty. The art colony grew up around the boarding house owned by Florence Griswold and quickly drew artists such as John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Willard Leroy Metcalf, and Childe Hassam.

The Florence Griswold Museum was established with the aim of collecting works by members of the Lyme Art Colony and has grown to encompass eleven acres surrounding the Griswold House, which was built in 1817. The museum has recently expanded with the construction of a ninety-five-hundred-square-foot exhibition gallery named for Robert and Nancy Krieble. This structure was designed by Centerbrook Architects and also includes storage space for the collection, visitor amenities, and a new museum shop. The inaugural exhibition, which opens on July 2 and will be on view through June 22, 2003, celebrates the recent gift of a comprehensive collection of paintings by artists who lived or worked in Connecticut, which was assembled by the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company (see The Magazine ANTIQUES, November 2001, p. 590). The exhibition, entitled The American Artist in Connecticut: The Legacy of the Hartford Steam Boiler Collection, includes nearly 100 works selected from the donation of 157 paint ings, 31 works on paper, and 2 sculptures.

The ...