Exhibitions

❄️ The Museum will be closed Thursday, January 20, due to the anticipated storm. ❄️

Current Exhibitions

October 2, 2021-January 23, 2022
Revisiting America: The Prints of Currier & Ives

Currier & Ives was a powerhouse of nineteenth-century publishing and had an immeasurable influence on American visual culture. Founded in New York in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier, the company expanded to include a new partner, James Merritt Ives, after 1857. Currier & Ives produced millions of affordably priced copies of over seven thousand original lithographs, living up to its self-appointed title as “the Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints.” Along with their popular appeal, these images offer a new opportunity to uncover the complexities and contradictions of our history and help shape our understanding of America’s past.

Frances Palmer (1812–1876), Across the Continent “Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way”, 1868. lithograph. Joslyn Art Museum, Gift of Conagra Brands.

Ongoing

An American Place: The Art Colony at Old Lyme

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.

Find Out More

Upcoming Exhibitions

February 12–May 1, 2022
New London County Quilts & Bed Covers, 1750‒1825

The domestic textiles produced in New London County from the mid-18th to early 19th-century stand out today as masterpieces of American needle craft. Curated by independent scholar Lynne Z. Bassett, New London County Quilts & Bedcovers, 1750‒1825, on view February 12–May 1, 2022, examines the artistic excellence of these pieces within the context of design inspiration drawn from an array of transatlantic sources and explores the question of how the county fostered such exceptional work. Quilted petticoats with maritime motifs, bold geometric patterns on bed rugs, sophisticated feathers and fruit stitched on elegant whitework quilts, and patriotic appliqués reveal the range and accomplishment of New London County women. The exhibition unites for the first time examples by these makers, whose names are only sometimes known, but whose textiles survive as evidence of the network of connections between teachers, students, and family members.