Abandon in Place: The Worlds of Anna Audette

Through January 28, 2024

Abandon in Place: The Worlds of Anna Audette

Connecticut artist Anna Held Audette (1938–2013) discerned loveliness in decline, creating monumental oil paintings of the disused factories, machines, and scrapyards that are America’s ruins. Her works, positioned somewhere between landscape, still life, and abstraction, reference the arc of America’s ascendance and decline as a manufacturing titan. Appreciative of art and architecture from across the ages, Audette perceived transcendent humanity and ingenuity vested in the crafted objects and spaces that caught her eye, defying expectations for women artists by embracing the inhospitable places recorded in her work.

Learn more about the exhibition...

Holiday Magic

November 24—December 31

Holiday Magic

Museum campus truly lights up for the holidays!

Over 250 unique painted artist palettes displayed on trees in the Krieble Gallery, decorations throughout the historic Griswold House for a 1910 holiday, Miss Florence's Teas, specialty gift shopping, and much more.

Holiday Magic is generously supported by an anonymous donor, Infiltrator Water Technologies, Pasta Vita, Bouvier Insurance, Timeless Living Designs, Essence Center for Beauty and Wellness, Jean Callan King Interior Design, LLC, and the Museum’s Board of Trustees.

Learn more...


Support the Museum

Support the Museum

The Florence Griswold Museum flourishes with the support of our community.

Your tax-deductible gift to our Annual Fund goes toward the cost of essential needs: Museum Collection and Exhibitions, Educational Programs for all Ages, Serving the Community, and Museum Facilities & Grounds.

Thank you for taking the Museum to new heights of innovation and community service!

Learn more...

Miss Florence's Teas

November 28—December 30

Miss Florence's Teas

This holiday favorite sold out so quickly last year that we have added dates and additional seatings for 2023.

November 28—December 30, Tuesdays—Saturdays, tea will be served twice each day. Choose a seating at 11am or at 2pm and enjoy your tea for up to two hours. No teas on Sundays or Mondays.

Reservations are now open!

Reservations...

Upcoming Events & Programs

Upcoming Events & Programs

Explore our full roster of fall programming. Family-friendly holiday events, plus lectures and educational programming for the exhibition Abandon in Place: The Worlds of Anna Audette. Flower arranging, fall crafts, Art Bars, and much more.

Sign up now and enjoy the fun, festive season at the Museum!

Learn more...


Current and Coming

Field Trips & Group Tours

Field Trips & Group Tours

Thinking of planning a field trip or group tour of the Museum? We have multiple different options for delightful trips, no matter the size or age of your group!

Get in touch with our Education team to plan a memorable visit today.

Learn more...

Solitary Garden

by artist jackie sumell

Solitary Garden

The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme is collaborating with the New Orleans-based artist jackie sumell to install one of her “Solitary Garden” beds on our grounds, in conjunction with the exhibition Social & Solitary: Reflections on Art, Isolation, and Renewal. The Solitary Garden project comes to life through correspondence between a volunteer and a currently incarcerated “gardener.” Their letters articulate to the Museum what kinds of flowers or plants are grown in the garden bed. Each Solitary Garden is a gesture of hope connecting an isolated person to the outside world through the restorative act of nurturing plants.

Find out more...

Fun & Games? Leo Jensen's Pop Art

FEBRUARY 20–MAY 19, 2024

Fun & Games? Leo Jensen's Pop Art

Pop artist Leo Jensen (1926–2019) turned a winking eye on America, producing an irreverent art that is nevertheless serious in its cultural observations. Known best regionally for his bronze frog sculptures on the Thread City Crossing bridge in Willimantic, Jensen infused his work with humor as well as thought-provoking reflections on modern American society.

Learn more...


Friends and Neighbors

Explore Old Lyme

You won’t find a more quaint and inviting arts district than Lyme Street in Old Lyme. Spend your day engaged in the American arts as you walk from the museum to our art galleries, wander through a sculpture garden of imagination, and stop by a coffeehouse where someone just might be strumming their guitar. A renowned Jazz Club joins other inspiring music venues and performance series across town, while special events celebrating the arts happen throughout the year.

Find Out More

Online

Collections

Hartford Steam Boiler Collection

A New England Identity

Hartford Steam Boiler Collection

The paintings and sculptures in this exhibition are by artists who lived and worked in Connecticut from the late Colonial period to the early 20th century.

More Information

The Painted Panels

In Situ

The Painted Panels

During the first summers of the Lyme art colony the artists began to paint scenes on the door panels of the boardinghouse.

See the Collection

Fox Chase

Race Into the Past

Fox Chase

One of the most celebrated works of art at the Florence Griswold Museum is the frieze-like painting titled The Fox Chase (1905) created by Henry Rankin Poore.

See the Collection


Museum

Campus

Krieble Gallery

Krieble Gallery

Begin your visit at the Krieble Gallery.

Visit the Gallery

Florence Griswold House

Florence Griswold House

The Late Georgian mansion was transformed from a wealthy sea captain’s home into a boardinghouse for some of the most noted names in American Impressionism.

Visit the House

Gardens and Grounds

Gardens and Grounds

The Museum’s grounds invite exploration.

Visit the Grounds


History Blog

Documents: The Capture of an American Privateer During the War of 1812

Transcribed by John E. Noyes Featured Image: Probably Gustave de Galard (1779–1841), Captain Augustus Henry Griswold (detail), ca. 1820, Oil...

Read More