The “Holy House”: Spirit of a Place
A new exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum
June 4, 2005 through May 28, 2006
Old Lyme, CT – May 31, 2005: During the early decades of the twentieth century Old Lyme, Connecticut was home to a thriving artist colony. Centered in Florence Griswold’s boardinghouse, which artists and art students alike called the “Holy House,” the Lyme Art Colony included such noted artists as Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, and Henry Ward Ranger. The Museum’s latest exhibition, The “Holy House”: Spirit of a Place, on view June 4, 2005 through May 28, 2006, displays a group of paintings and artifacts that are most closely and familiarly associated with the Griswold House in a completely new setting: the Robert and Nancy Krieble Gallery. This installation provides audiences the rare opportunity to look at these objects out of the context of the Griswold House.
By taking these paintings and artifacts out of the historic house (which is currently undergoing a comprehensive restoration) and placing them in a modern “museum” space, visitors can take a fresh new look at their appearance and meaning. “With the Griswold House under restoration, we have an unusual chance to look at these objects in a dramatically different way,” reflects Jeffrey Andersen, Museum Director and co-curator for the exhibition with Research Associate Liz Farrow. The exhibition introduces Florence Griswold, her household, and the artists who became part of the “School of Lyme” between 1900 and 1910. “The Holy House” is also a preview of how the Museum is refurnishing and reinterpreting the Griswold House as a boardinghouse for artists, circa 1910, that will premiere in the summer of 2006.
Some of the objects featured in the exhibition are Miss Florence’s harp, brought from London by her father; The Harpist (1903), a portrait of Florence Griswold by the French-Canadian painter Alphonse Jongers; and, perhaps most unexpectedly, the door panel “Normandy Bull” by William Henry Howe that has adorned the parlor for over one hundred years. Paintings of the interior of the house and the grounds provide a picture of the extraordinary community that existed there. A number of new acquisitions are being shown for the first time. These include paintings and photographs recently purchased at auction by the Museum. Several of the works in the exhibit were once owned by Florence Griswold and hung in her house during her lifetime.
A concurrent exhibition, May Night: Willard Metcalf at Old Lyme, on view through September 11, 2005, considers the importance of Old Lyme, Miss Florence, and the Lyme Art Colony in the life of one artist. The show traces the three summers Willard Metcalf spent in Old Lyme (1905 – 1907), and examines their pivotal role in his reputation as one of America’s preeminent landscape painters. Also open to the public is the restored studio of American Impressionist William Chadwick, which gives visitors a glimpse of how artists of the time period worked.
The Museum is open year round Tuesday through Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $4 for 6-12. Visitors under 6 are free. The Museum is located at 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, exit 70 off I-95. For additional information contact the Museum at 860/434-5542 or www.flogris.org.
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