Florence Griswold Museum

The Florence Griswold Museum is a National Historic Landmark located in the heart of the historic district in Old Lyme, Connecticut. A historic center for American art known as the home of American Impressionism, the Florence Griswold Museum encompasses eleven acres along the Lieutenant River.

Founded in 1936, the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme is a center for American art accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. In the early years of the twentieth century, the Museum's site and grounds served as the center for the Lyme Art Colony, one of America's most famous art colonies. The recipient of a Trip Advisor 2014 Certificate of Excellence, the Florence Griswold Museum has been called a "Giverny in Connecticut" by the Wall Street Journal, and a "must-see" by the Boston Globe. With an eye toward the integration of art, history and landscape in all that it does, the Museum has spent the last decade redefining itself as a central part of community life with an award-winning exhibition gallery for its collections and a thorough reinterpretation of its landmark Florence Griswold House as a boardinghouse for artists, c. 1910.

Please see the Museum's website for hours and admission fees.

(above: Florence Griswold Museum exterior, 2016. Photo credit Jeff Goldberg/Esto)

Editor's note: Resource Library readers may also enjoy:

Videos:

this video from TFAO's Videos catalog, an authoritative guide to videos in VHS and DVD format:

Once Upon a Time in Old Lyme: The Story of an American Art Colony is a 19 minute DVD produced by the Florence Griswold Museum in 2007. It was brought to TFAO's attention by Tammi Flynn of the Florence Griswold Museum and Shana Herb Johannessen.

TFAO does not maintain a lending library of videos or sell videos. Click here for information on how to borrow or purchase copies of VHS videos and DVDs listed in this catalogue.

Books:

Google Book Searches conducted in 2008 and 2013 by Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO) located the following brochures, catalogues and gallery guides published on paper in connection with the Museum and with a topic of American representational art. The list may not include all relevant publications. Titles are listed by date of publication, with most recent listed first. Information on publications may be in error or incomplete. Titles may be followed by links to related essays published by Resource Library. See Definitions for more information on finding brochures, catalogues and gallery guides using TFAO's website.

Lyme in Mind: the Clement C. Moore Collection, by Amy Kurtz Lansing, Amanda Cathryne Burdan. 2009 - 63 pages. "This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Lyme in Mind: The Clement C. Moore Collection at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, July 18-October 18, 2009."

The Road Less Traveled: Thomas Nason's Rural New England. by Amanda Cathryne Burdan. Florence Griswold Museum, 2009 - 8 pages

The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture ... by Marilyn Nelson - 2006. "This book was published on the occasion of the exhibition The Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the Eyes of Venture Smith at the Florence...

May Night: Willard Metcalf at Old Lyme * by Bruce W. Chambers, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Amy Ellis, Emily M. Weeks, Florence Griswold Museum - 2005. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, May 1-Sept. 11, 2005.

The American Artist in Connecticut: The Legacy of the Hartford Steam Boiler Collection * by Jeffrey W. Andersen, Hildegard Cummings - 2002. "Published on the occasion of the exhibition ... at the Florence Griswold Museum from July 2, 2002 through June 22, 2003"--T.p. verso.

Henry Ward Ranger and the Humanized Landscape * by Jack Becker, Lance Mayer, Gay Myers - 1999. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Conn., June 5-Sept. 5, 1999.

Wilson Henry Irvine and the Poetry of Light by Harold Spencer - 1998 - 84 pages. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, June 6 - August 30, 1998. Wilson Henry Irvine and the Poetry of Light; essay by Harold Spencer (7/14/09)

Lines of Thought: American Works on Paper from a Private Collection, by Charles M. Price - 1996 - 48 pages. Catalog essay by Charles Price. Taking the Road Not Taken: American Works on Paper from a Private Collection; essay by Charles Price (7/23/08)

Color, Light & Atmosphere: The Art of Charles and Mary Roberts Ebert ... * by Charles Ebert, Mary Roberts Ebert, Florence Griswold Museum - 1996.

A Noble Tradition: American Painting from the National Arts Club by Carol Lowrey - 1995 - 31 pages. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, July 7-September 3, 1995. A Noble Tradition: American Paintings from the National Arts Club; essay by Carol Lowrey (2/8/06)

Faces of Change: The Art of Ivan Olinsky, 1878-1962 * by Hildegard Cummings, Jeffrey W. Andersen - 1995 - 32 pages. Issued in connection with an exhibition held at the William Benton Museum, Storrs, June 20-Aug. 22, 1995, and at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Sept. 8...

Thomas W. Nason: New England Virtues Aged in Wood by Charles Price -1993 - 61 pages. Catalog of an exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum from Oct. 1, 1993 - Jan. 16, 1994.

A World Observed: The Art of Everett Longley Warner, 1877-1963 / by Helen K ... * by Helen K. Fusscas, Everett Longley Warner, Florence Griswold Museum, Westmoreland Museum of Art, Bucknell University Center Gallery - 1992 - 48 pages

The Connecticut Shore: A Selection of Paintings from the Kathleen & Arthur J ... * Exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Conn., Aug. 15-Nov.1, 1992.

The Lieutenant River by Susan Hollingsworth Ely, Elizabeth Bull Plimpton - 1991 - 71 pages

Three Artists of Pleasant Valley: Robert Vonnoh, Oscar Fehrer, Eugene Higgins : June 1-July 28, 1991, Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut. Florence Griswold Museum, 1991 - 8 pages

The Harmony of Nature: The Art of Frank Vincent DuMond * by Jeffrey W. Andersen, Charles B. Ferguson - 1990 - 32 pages

Rudolf Scheffler (1884-1973) ** by Peter H. Falk - 1989 - 48 pages

Harry L. Hoffman, 1871-1964: A World of Color ** by Jeffrey W. Andersen - 1988. Exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Conn., Sept. 1-Nov. 27, 1988.

Childe Hassam in Connecticut by Kathleen M. Burnside, Childe Hassam - 1987 - 32 pages. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Greenwich Civic Center, Old Greenwich, Conn., and the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Conn., 1987-1988.

Harry Leslie Hoffman, 1871-1964. by John L. Hoffman. Florence Griswold Museum, 1987

Edward F. Rook, 1870-1960: American Impressionist, by Diane P. Fisher. Florence Griswold Museum, 1987 - 31 pages

The Whites of Waterford: An American Landscape Tradition : an Exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, October 10-December 1, 1985. The Museum, 1985 - 2 pages

The Lyme Historical Society Presents a Retrospective Exhibition of the ... Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum - 1984 - 31 pages

Bruce Crane (1857-1937): American Tonalist ** by Charles Teaze Clark, Mary Muir -1984 - 31 pages. Retrospective exhibition held at the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Conn., June 10-Sept. 9, 1984.

Old Lyme, the American Barbizon by Lyme Historical Society, Florence Griswold Museum - 1982 - 51 pages. "Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum, June 6-August 29, 1982"--T.p. verso.

Clark G.Voorhees 1871-1933 ** by Barbara J. MacAdam - Art - 32 pages

Book information courtesy of Google Books.

* as of 3//17/09 one or more essays of interest to Resource Library.

** as of 8/5/09 catalog essay(s) approved by Museum for reprinting in Resource Library.

The potential for the essays in the above books to be placed online for free access by the public is of interest to TFAO. For information on digitizing initiatives from non profit organizations please see digitizing initiatives. Also please see commercial ventures. For information on two of TFAO's digitizing initiatives please click here for the Institutional Sources Study Project, here for the Collections-Centric Scholarly Texts Project, here for Resource Library's Scholarly texts services to Institutions, and here for TFAO's grant program for conversion of analog text to digital files and online publication of scholarly texts

Links to sources of information outside of our web site are provided only as referrals for your further consideration. Please use due diligence in judging the quality of information contained in these and all other web sites. Information from linked sources may be inaccurate or out of date. Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. (TFAO) neither recommends or endorses these referenced organizations. Although TFAO includes links to other web sites, it takes no responsibility for the content or information contained on those other sites, nor exerts any editorial or other control over them. For more information on evaluating web pages see TFAO's General Resources section in Online Resources for Collectors and Students of Art History.

Why was this sub-index page prepared?

When Resource Library publishes over time more than one article concerning an institution, there is created as an additional resource for readers a sub-index page containing links to each Resource Library article or essay concerning that institution, plus available information on its location and other descriptive information.

See TFAO's Museums Explained to learn about the "inner workings" of art museums and the functions of staff members. In the exhibitions section find out how to get the most out of a museum visit. See definitions for a glossary of museum-related words used in articles.
To help you plan visits to institutions exhibiting American art when traveling see Sources of Articles Indexed by State within the United States.

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Traditional Fine Arts Organization's catalogues provide many more useful resources:

American Representational Art links to dozens of topics in American Representational Art
Audio Online a catalogue of online streaming audio recordings
Collections of Historic American Art notable private collections
Distinguished Artists a national registry of historic artists
Geographic Tour of American Representational Art History a catalogue of articles and essays that describe the evolution of American art from the inception of the United States to WWII.
Illustrated Audio Online streaming online narrated slide shows
Articles and Essays Online substantive texts published outside of Resource Library
Videos Online a comprehensive catalogue of online full motion videos streamed free to viewers
Videos an authoritative guide to videos in VHS and DVD format
Books general reference books published on paper
Interactive media media in CD-ROM format
Magazines paper-published magazines and journals

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