Ongoing

The Baxter Collection: Selections from the Matthew A. Baxter Bequest

  • Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Discovery Sundays: 11am-4pm each Sunday.

  • Matilda Browne (1869–1947), Miss Katharine Ludington’s Garden in Old Lyme, ca. 1914. Oil on wood. Matthew A. Baxter Bequest, 2022.22.1

  • Frank A. Bicknell (1866–1943), A May Morning, ca. 1913. Oil on canvas. Matthew A. Baxter Bequest, 2022.22.6

  • George M. Bruestle (1871–1939), Hamburg Cove. Oil on canvas board. Matthew A. Baxter Bequest, 2022.22.14

  • Will Howe Foote (1874–1965), Water’s Edge, Bermuda. Oil on wood. Matthew A. Baxter Bequest, 2022.22.12

When Trustee Matthew “Andy” Baxter passed away in February 2022, his estate plans included a gift of Lyme School artworks to the Museum. The current installation of selected examples from his bequest of twenty artworks celebrates a cherished friend and supporter of the Museum, whose generosity has now enhanced the permanent collection.

Andy loved the Lyme landscape, an affection reflected in his collection’s emphasis on local scenes. Examples by artist friends Matilda Browne and George Bruestle depict scenes along Joshuatown Road. A small panel by Bruestle shows the view not far up Joshuatown Road, looking across hazy pastures and fields toward Hamburg Cove. Oils by William S. Robinson, Allen Talcott, and Guy C. Wiggins capture changing light, foliage, and weather—elements that attracted artists to the Lyme region at all seasons.

While the artists included in Baxter’s bequest have ties to Connecticut, not all are represented by paintings made in this area. Will Howe Foote hated New England’s cold weather and left his Old Lyme home for warmer destinations he depicted in paintings like the vibrant Water’s Edge, Bermuda. Carl Wuermer, who spent time in Connecticut as well as around the art colony in Woodstock, New York, is represented by a large but delicate snow scene.

Over the years, Andy demonstrated enthusiasm for the Museum’s exhibition program and even lent a prized painting by Matilda Browne to our 2017 survey of her work. Andy developed an affection for the work of Henry C. White (1861–1952) following the Museum’s 2009 exhibition of the pastels the artist made during nearly daily sessions drawing outdoors. While works on paper could not be included in this current selection due to light levels, look for those gifts in future exhibitions, along with examples by Bruce Crane, James Daugherty, Childe Hassam, and J. Alden Weir.

This exhibition is on view in the Marshfield House.