It’s not mere coincidence that the Lyme Art Colony flourished at the same time plein-air painting, or painting outdoors, became popular. By the end of the 19th century, an artist’s direct and immediate impression of a natural scene was often favored over their re-creating a landscape in their studio from sketches and memory. To be closer to the desired subject matter the artists left their studios in the city and headed out to the country. Once there, they tended to congregate in the inns and boardinghouses available in the small villages and rural outposts.

Old Lyme quickly became a preferred destination for many of these artists, and the Griswold boardinghouse and the surrounding grounds were perfectly suited to their needs. Make-shift studios were fashioned out of barns and other outbuildings. Despite their tumbled-down appearance, these reclaimed buildings provided the necessary space where the artists could store their materials, stretch canvas, prepare panels, pack paintings for shipping, and even work on days not suited for painting outdoors.

“One interesting feature of the summer class is the caddie system. Every girl has her caddie, who carries the pack to the chosen spot to return at a given time. Fifteen cents for the trip is the usual pay and it is not a little amusing to notice the loyalties and jealousies attaching to their respective patrons.”

~ Journalist Anthony H. Euwer, 1904

These plein-airists, as they were sometimes called, ventured into the wilds unfettered by roof and walls and set up painting stations outfitted with their portable easels (ingenious contraptions that unfolded to full size and could be leveled on uneven terrain), paint boxes filled with squeezable tubes of paint, tins of solvents and oil, collapsible stools, and retractable parasols.

Some would bring canvas stretched over a wooden frame, others a wood panel to paint on. Often the paint boxes were outfitted with grooves to hold the panels in place without smudging the wet paint while the artist was in transit. Visit the “Artists’ Tools & Technique” icon to learn more. The ease of such ventures was equally attractive to art students who, according to one report in 1904, “with umbrella and easel . . . seem to grow on meadow or hill, in the wooded paths or rocky slopes.”

Indeed, painting en plein air was not an American invention. In the early 19th century, artists in France began in greater numbers to paint out-of-doors in order to capture their immediate impression of nature, rather than painting from memory or from sketches in their studio. This later became the hallmark of the French Impressionists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissaro, and Auguste Renoir, to name only a famous few. In fact, the name “Impressionism” came from a negative comment from an art critic in 1874, who said these paintings made en plein air looked like unfinished sketches and more like mere impressions. Like the French Impressionists, many painters in America adopted the tradition of painting outdoors, literally immersed in the same landscape they were painting.

Film Clips from Silent Film "Lyme Artists" (1930s)

George Bruestle painting en plein air in summer in Lyme   Close up of George Bruestle painting en plein air in summer in Lyme   Edward Volkert painting oxen in a farmer’s field in Lyme

“One youngster [a caddie], whose loyalty I fear was somewhat on the wane, was so unfortunate as to drop his canvas, face upward, on the dusty road. Nothing daunted, he unstrapped the kit and proceeded with brush and palette to make good the damage. The authorities do not state what took place at the private view, but it is recorded that the culprit remarked to a companion that ‘it look a darn sight better that it did before it tumbled.’”

~ Journalist Anthony H. Euwer, 1904

To learn more about the School of Lyme click below:

• Intro
• Bottle of Mastic - Artists at Work
• Painting En Plein Air
• Painting in the Studio
• Bottle of Rye - Artists at Play