Visiting The Florence Griswold Museum opened up a door to another world to me. I have lived n Connecticut most of life but never knew much about the history of our state until now. The more I began researching the Griswold name, I gained insight on how Connecticut settled into itself and grew to be what we know today. I also learned the import contributions of the Griswold home, Lyme and now Old Lyme had in shaping the art community within Connecticut, New York and even Boston.
The Griswold family came to America from England in 1639. The family consisted of wealthy politicians and land owners that had begun establishing themselves as lawyers as well as politicians throughout Lyme, Wolcott, Hartford and other areas of Connecticut. It all began when Mathew Griswold son of John Griswold a successful politician and friend of George Fenwick of Say Brook, was asked to hold a political office in Connecticut. In doing so he was given a large chunk of land in Lyme along the Lieutenant River as well as land along the Connecticut River. Other relatives such as Florence’s grandfather, was a US Congressman and Connecticut Supreme court judge.
The Griswold house was built in 1817 by architect Samuel Belcher from Hartford Connecticut and still contains most of the original furniture along with dish ware used while dining. During hard times some of the homes furniture was sold off to pay the mortgage. Unfortunately, Florence was born into the poor side of the Griswold Family. The Old Lyme Art Colony later sought out the furniture and purchased it back.
The house was originally built for Robert and Helen Griswold, Florence’s parents. Robert made a living as a transatlantic packing boat captain and did so until he was 49. He then retired and opened an ox-and-horseshoe factory in Old Lyme. The business was not successful and the family fell into massive debt. Upon the death of her father Florence’s mother Helen de
cided to open a boarding school for girls in an effort not to lose their home. Florence and her sisters also made attempts to sell flowers from their gardens but that too was unsuccessful. At this time women had certain expectancies and running a household financially and working was considered out of place for a women.
cided to open a boarding school for girls in an effort not to lose their home. Florence and her sisters also made attempts to sell flowers from their gardens but that too was unsuccessful. At this time women had certain expectancies and running a household financially and working was considered out of place for a women. The picture to the right is the original ad place for the Griswold Boarding School for girl.
The strain to maintain the home was becoming great and a close friend of the family, artist Henry Ward Ranger, approached Florence with the idea of a boarding house for artists. The location was perfect and he promised to bring all of his friends with him. The idea was to create a Barbizon-oriented art colony. by the 1900’s they succeeded in creating The Old Lyme Art Colony now the Lyme Art Association influenced by the arrival of impressionistic artist Childe Hassam.
The Griswold home became the most influential factor in the impressionistic art movement in New England. Many artists such as Frank Vincent DuMond (1865-1951),William Chadwick (1879-1962), and Willard Metcalf (1858-1925), traveled here to paint Connecticut’s shoreline and its surroundings such as apple orchards, marshes, the wilderness and local farms. Florence would then sell the paintings and drawings to cover the costs in up keeping the house. Old Lyme had become an escape from the busy cities that were growing from American industrialism. Artists had already been visiting Monhegan Island in Maine many years earlier but came in greater numbers after the opening of the Griswold boarding house.
Located in the center of town, the Griswold home resides on eleven (11) acres of land and borders The Lieutenant River. The Lieutenant River is the longest running river in Connecticut which eventually dumps into the Connecticut River. This area of the grounds was popular amongst the artist staying at the boarding house. Many landscapes of the Lieutenant River have been painted some showing those staying at the house on boats owned by Florence Griswold.
The entire 11 acres became the back drop for many artists paintings. Florence kept fruit trees for making pies and preserves along with flower many flower gardens. You will see the original barns which still contain everything needed to maintain these gardens in the spring and summer. The staff has also kept the same type of fruit trees and flowers Florence would have planted.
The entire 11 acres became the back drop for many artists paintings. Florence kept fruit trees for making pies and preserves along with flower many flower gardens. You will see the original barns which still contain everything needed to maintain these gardens in the spring and summer. The staff has also kept the same type of fruit trees and flowers Florence would have planted.
A particular detail to look for in the home is the painted door panels on the first floor. Artists were encouraged to paint the door and wall panels throughout the home. They were always looking for a challenges and ways to entertain themselves.
An Artist who caught my attention was Thomas W. Nason. I noticed what I thought was a drawing but in fact was a print. Thomas W. Nason (1889-1971) from Lyme Connecticut was not the most popular artists for his time but is known for his wood carvings and prints. He became internationally recognized by The National Academy of design for his burin techniques. (A burin is a tool used for wood carvings.) He later worked with metals such as copper.
Below you will see some of Nason's Prints.
What amazed me most about Nason’s prints was the amount of detail each one had and yet some of his prints were very small. He created each picture by my making carved plates and pressing the imagine onto paper. Some landscapes were created by pressing the same piece of paper up to 700 hundred times. The amount of detail to his prints has a three dimensional feeling giving you a sense of his surroundings. Each landscape is also a door way back in time showing us how people lived and what New England was like, especially the Lyme area, to live in; from the houses, farms and horse drawn carriages.
He did not receive any formal training, instead he taught himself with books from the Boston Public Library. He also learned from his experiences with retail print from The Goodspeed’s Bookshop as well as other print distributors. Nason also taught him self how to perform engraving. By 1923 he presented his first work of art for sale at the Goodspeed Bookshop and by the early 1930, people started to recognize Nasons prints and they began to sell.
With his new found motivation and the death of his current employer, Nason decided to leave the business world and take up the profession of a print maker, creating prints for writers such as Robert Frost. This is when Nason really took an interest in plate making and built his own press. Thomas Nason also took up painting but that was not until later in his life. He lived the rest of his day and Lyme and past away in 1971. I feel that it may have been a slow start for Nason in the begin but in the end he proved his ability to create art.
If you are interested in learning more about the Griswold Musuem and The Old Lyme Art Association you may follow any of the links below.
http://www.cslib.org/gov/griswoldm.htm
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_colony.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_florence.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_impress.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_identity.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_boarding.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_colony.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_florence.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_impress.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_identity.php
http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learning/insitu/html/essays/essay_boarding.php
Superb writing, Ann... Your in depth look at the history of the Griswold family and the creation of the art colony made for wonderful reading... You also discovered the joys of the medium of printmaking as practiced by a master.
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