Connecticut’s Art Trail

I thought I had to go to France to see the best Impressionist paintings. And then I went to Connecticut. Little did I know that a corridor in the southwestern part of the state, stretching from the Greenwich area to Stamford, Wilton and beyond, played host to some of the greatest American Impressionist painters. My discovery of their work was part of a weekend getaway discovering Connecticut’s “Art Trail.”

Art Colony

Front and center to the “trail” is Cos Cob, a Greenwich hamlet along Connecticut’s “Gold Coast,” a coastal area an hour from New York City. Visitors throng to this area in summer, as did artists in the late 1800s, drawn to the changing hues of the area’s windswept beaches, tidal marshes, winding rivers and rocky pastures. Artist John Henry Twachtman, after studying with fellow American Impressionists in Paris, adopted the area as his home. There in the Holley House, a local boarding house that is now Bush-Holley House, he began offering summer painting classes to members of the Art League of New York City. Colleagues soon joined him and before long, as many as 90 painters would visit the Holley House to paint, the artists becoming known as the “Cos Cob Art Colony.”

I tour the house, now a small museum, its rooms retaining the period furniture of earlier times. There are memorable pieces of art, described as “poems in color,” from artist Elmer MacRae as well as influential painter Childe Hassam, considered one of the greatest American Impressionists.

Small Museum with Big Surprises

Nearby in Greenwich, I’m stunned to find that the local Bruce Museum is a wealth of treasures. A photography exhibit displays the work of LIFE photojournalist Carl Mydans, including his iconic image of the Japanese surrender to Allied Powers in World War II aboard the USS Missouri. Adjacent are dreamy images of the natural world of moths and butterflies captured by another LIFE photographer, Margaret Bourke-White.

A shark exhibit also happens to be on display here, and I’m awed by the gigantic jaw of an extinct megalodon, meaning “big tooth”—its teeth about five times the size of a great white shark. Then, guests of all ages revel in critter feeding time within a permanent display, Life Between the Tides, showcasing the region’s shores, rivers and ponds that so captured the imaginations of those Impressionist painters. The Bruce has surprises around every corner.

Between these local jaunts, I make my home at the luxurious Hotel Delamar in Greenwich Harbor. The balcony of my room overlooks the water and slick yachts, and there’s a pretty pontoon boat that provides hotel guests complimentary rides for glimpses of nearby island beaches and magnificent waterfront mansions that seem out of The Great Gatsby. And, for perusing the Art Trail, there’s a complimentary Tesla shuttle to anywhere within a three-mile radius of the hotel. The Delamar is a calm and serene haven within, while I find its harborside restaurant L’Escale abuzz, apparently the “in” place to be, its fine dining drawing an elegant crowd.

Continuing along the trail, I move on to the beautiful grounds of the Stamford Museum & Nature Center, a 118-acre site and once the estate of department store owner Henri Bendel. There are miles of hiking trails as well as a barnyard area with animals to delight children. I’m especially drawn to Bendel’s mansion where there’s an exhibit by a contemporary artist whose installations capture animals in motion, a form of “3D impressionism.” What makes these so fascinating is that upon closer inspection I see that recycled plastic objects, not pigment, are the artist’s brush strokes— for example, a galloping white horse made of kitchen spoons and spatulas. Another whimsical upcoming exhibit will feature ballgowns made of cabbage and fruit.

A short drive 20-minutes away, I visit the quiet, coastal community of Southport, planning to lay my head down at another Delamar property—the Delamar Southport. But first I grab one of the hotel’s complimentary bikes for a pretty ride to the local beach. Flocks of birds sweep in and out of grassy marshes flanking the beach, reminding me again of this area’s inspiring vistas.

Fields of Inspiration

Perhaps few in this regional art colony were inspired more than Julian Alden Weir. This iconic painter, who has seven works hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sold a painting for $550 in 1883 to fund his purchase of a house, barns, and 60 acres of land in nearby Wilton. The grounds are a pretty, half-hour ride from Southport, past rolling hills and flowering fields. The Weir Farm, which is now part of the National Parks and offers free guided tours, proves to be a highlight of my weekend getaway. The grounds are gorgeous—as depicted in Met-worthy pieces within the main house, preserved almost entirely as it was back in Weir’s days, down to the Dickens books in the bookcase.

I snap photos of Weir’s paintbrushes and palette in the barn that served as his studio. Being this close to the Impressionist’s tools with so little separation between myself and the artist’s brushstrokes is invigorating.  On a stroll through the fields, I happen upon Bobbi Mullen, an artist who is trying her hand at rendering the sunset-colored landscape with sunlight streaming through the trees. Bobbi is interpreting her own contemporary vision of the scene in watercolor, and I learn that many like her visit these hallowed grounds to paint the surrounding beauty. My visit to the Weir estate is a fitting end to my weekend of art appreciation and I leave with images of swirling skies and dancing fields in my head. Still, there are more than a dozen museums on the Connecticut art trail that I didn’t get to visit. Maybe I’ll take a painting class.

About Connecticut’s Art Trail

A nationally recognized partnership between 21 museums and historic sites showcasing Connecticut’s rich cultural assets, with 10 featuring American Impressionists. A $25 Art Passport provides entrance to each member museum once a year. www.ctarttrail.org