June 28-September 14

Cow Tales

  • The Museum and Café will be closed Friday, July 4.

  • William Henry Howe (1846–1929), Repose, September Days in Normandy, 1888–89. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 51 1/4 in. Florence Griswold Museum, David W. and Mary S. Dangremond Acquisitions Fund

  • Brian Keith Stephens, Visit Your Neighbor I (left) and Visit Your Neighbor II (right), 2025. Oil and wax on cotton, 46 x 70 in. Courtesy of the artist

  • Edward C. Volkert (1871–1935), Harrowing, ca. 1929. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of George C. Lay

  • Bernard Chaet (1924–2012), Pastoral, 1959. Oil on canvas, 42 x 50 in. Florence Griswold Museum

Inspired by the Museum’s extensive collection of animal paintings by Lyme Art Colony (1900–1937) artists, Cow Tales will explore the subject of cows as compelling subject matter through over 30 artworks and artifacts ranging from the mid-19th century to the present. The exhibition builds on the Museum’s online learning resource Hauling & Harrowing: Edward Volkert and the Connecticut Farm. Like the virtual exhibition, which compiles and analyzes Volkert’s depictions of agriculture from the 1910s–1930s, works in Cow Tales reveal (and conceal!) the era’s complex transition from animal-powered to industrial farming. The exhibition examines the historic and contemporary tensions evoked by cows through examples by artists such as George Henry Durrie, Aaron Draper Shattuck, William Henry Howe, Matilda Browne, Edward Volkert, Bernard Chaet, Tina Barney, Judy Friday, and Brian Keith Stephens.

This exhibition is made possible with the generous support of HSB, John and Barbara Hazeltine, Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, as well as donors to the Exhibition Fund and the Annual Fund.

See the calendar of exhibition programming

Welcome to the Community Herd!

In response to the exhibition Cow Tales, community members “herd” our call.

THANK YOU to the schools, artists, and local families who created a beautiful herd of cows for the Museum’s grounds for the run of the exhibition, June 28 through September 14.

We know that you will enjoy their creativity! Our community herd members will be auctioned off at the end of the exhibition to support the Museum’s exhibition fund and outreach programming. Stay tuned for more details!

Image: Blossom by Rita Rivera

Learn more about the herd