Tour of American Impressionism, the Tiffanies, and the Lyman Allyn

The oldest artifact on exhibit at the Lyman Allyn museum, New London, Connecticut is a 13th century stained glass carving.  Mr. Louis Comfort Tiffany, in his travels to Europe, was impressed by such glass and its imperfections which gave it character. He became inspired to make the glass items for which he's known. The imperfections were mainly, impurities in the glass, and varying thickness.

In this post you will take a virtual trip to southeast Connecticut which was a hub for American Impressionism around the late 1890s-1920.

Some locations of the stories are on this close-up map, a chunk of lower Connecticut:

For more well-traveled readers:

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New London had it's origins in the Whaling industry.  Mr. Lyman Allyn worked on a whaling ship, became a captain an then somewhat of a baron running five ships and other business interest. The art museum in New London, in the 1930s was named for him.

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The American Impressionists of the Old Lyme artists colony captured the spirit of the natural landscape, in the southeast of Connecticut.  The area reminded one of its founders of the Barbizon Forest, France.  The Old Lyme artists were schooled in Europe, or New York and some were associated with the Hudson River School art movement.

Fontainebleau, near Barbizon, not far south of Paris

My trip to the Lyman Allyn museum, a $12 entry on Oct. 19, 2019, was my second visit.  Having the museum almost to myself, it seemed a worthwhile alternative to the risk of being trampled at the MFA.

Opposite the front desk of the Lyman Allyn, the stairwell pays homage to the Whaling history:

On exhibit as of today

American Impressionists (permanent exhibit), Tiffany, and sports photographer Walter Iooss (that name starts with the letter "i").  A few others, not mentioned.

American Impressionists

(Introduction by the Museum)

First stop: welded steel and soldered copper, of artist Gilbert Boro.

American Impressionist Gallery

Guy Wiggins

William Chadwick

Ely's Ferry Road - subject of the above - is off Rte 82 in Lyme. I looked for Chadwick's vantage point on my way home from the gallery. Chadwick's view is probably from what's now a private residence, because houses are what I saw on the high vantage points. From these next pictures below, that I took from Ely's Ferry Road, can't you see the general character that the artist Chadwick must have been looking at?  I bet he painted the same time of year as these,

From Ely's Ferry Road



The road dead-ends at the Connecticut River itself. You can drive across the sand bank right into the water.

Willard Metcalf

Bruce Crane

Tonalism, as it's described, draws me in.  A close-up of the above:

Edward Henry Potthast

17th Century Flemish art

Moving on from impressionism. We won't spend much time here:




Close-up of a large still life:

Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany had family in New London, Norwich, and vicinity which are in southeastern Connecticut.  His glass works were in Queens. It's emphasized that he did much more than glass and lamps. He also painted, worked with metal and enamels, and an iridescent glass style called Favrile.




























Tiffany lamps of the Arts and Crafts style

in the Hallways

Storm Clouds

Walter Iooss, Sports Photographer

Walter Iooss went to Cuba for Sports Illustrated.  "With the architecture and its faded pastels, you can't take a bad picture in Cuba. Even in black and white, photos come out like you had perfect studio lighting!"  and "Some of these people have nothing but each other and sports. So they are always just living in the moment.  One group of runners had only a tennis ball can full of water between them at the track for three hours" The preceding is my paraphrase of some of his impressions.

Cuba, 2006

An homage next to football legend Walter Payton

Coach Lombardi, legendary Green Bay Packers football coach. Photo taken 12/10/66, a few weeks before my first appearance.





Joe Namath, New York Jets legendary quarterback, in Florida before Super Bowl 3.

Knots demo

Finally, the museum has several model ships, and this station where you learn different styles of knows.

End of the Tour!

The Lyman Allyn and its Neoclassical facade (photo not mine)

Below, a few photos I took on the drive home inspired by the Impressionist art

Hamburg Cover, Lyme, is an inlet where the Eightmile River enters the Connecticut River.




Lyme is generally not where you go to find the underprivileged.  Here's a modern house situated on the tranquil cove. Can you see the water behind the house?

Joshuatown Road bridge crosses right where the Eightmile River widens to become Hamburg Cove.


























Almost back to East Haddam, the farm below next to Rte 82 below reminisces of impressionism.  The Impressionist era, came at a time when the land was more clear-cut of trees.  The landscape has since grown back, so we don't see the land forms exactly as the artists did.

The End