What's On
What does SANCTUARY look like to you?
Photography Contest
We invite amateur photographers to take the theme of “sanctuary” as their inspiration for a pop-up juried exhibition at the Museum. The dictionary defines sanctuary as a “consecrated place,” such as a space of worship, and as “a place of refuge and protection.” What do you consider your sanctuary? Point your lenses at the places that represent sanctuary to you.
Submission guidelines in link. Entries must be submitted online between February 20 and April 1, 2020.
The exhibition “Nothing More American:” Immigration, Sanctuary, and Community features Matthew Leifheit’s photographs of a family that took sanctuary from deportation inside the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. His images of these immigrants appear with portraits of refugee families resettled in Old Lyme. Fleeing devastated countries, they found sanctuary in Connecticut, where they are building new lives.
Spaces fill quickly!
Sign up for Summer Art Camp
Sunday, June 28
Connecticut's Historic Gardens Day
Grounds admission is free; regular admission applies for historic house and gallery. Events will take place rain or shine, though activities may vary depending on the weather.
Current & Upcoming
Exhibitions
on view through May 24, 2020
Nothing More American: Immigration, Sanctuary, and Community an Exhibition by Matthew Leifheit
The white clapboard meetinghouse with its towering steeple is an icon of New England’s architecture and art, appearing often in paintings and photographs that depict it at the heart of the region’s small towns. "Nothing More American" brings together depictions of Old Lyme’s renowned First Congregational Church by 19th– and early-20th-century painters such as Childe Hassam with photographs by contemporary artist Matthew Leifheit that contemplate the meetinghouse’s evolving symbolism.
Ongoing Exhibition
An American Place
During the first two decades of the 20th century, the village of Old Lyme, Connecticut was the setting for one of the largest and most significant art colonies in America.
June 6- September 20, 2020
Fresh Fields: American Landscapes from the Florence Griswold Museum
Fresh Fields is a celebration of the Museum’s most beloved landscape paintings created by Impressionist artists who visited Old Lyme. The selection highlights major recent acquisitions, such as "Childe Hassam’s Apple Trees in Bloom, Old Lyme" (1904), and emphasize ongoing research about our landscape.
Current & Upcoming
Seasonal Events
June 1 through 30
GardenFest
Kick off the garden season in Old Lyme. Visitors to the Museum understand immediately the site’s appeal to the artists who stayed at “Miss Florence” Griswold’s boardinghouse over a century ago. Her house, gardens, and river view were favored subjects of her artistic boarders. Highlights include Garden Luncheon on June 12, 12pm and Blooms with a View June 12 through 14.
October 3 – November 1
Wee Faerie Village
Watch the Museum's social media during half-time of the Super Bowl for the release of this year's theme!
November 27 – January 3
Magic of Christmas
History Blog
Online
Collections
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.
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.
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.
Museum
Campus
Krieble Gallery
Begin your visit at the Krieble Gallery.
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.
Gardens and Grounds
The Museum’s grounds invite exploration.