Exhibition Celebrating State’s Millennium Legacy Trail Is At Old State House This Fall

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Commission on the Arts has announced that a celebratory exhibition, “The Connecticut Impressionist Art Trail – Connecticut’s Millennium Legacy Trail,” is being presented at the Old State House in Hartford through October 28.

Nominated by Governor John G. Rowland, the Impressionist Art Trail was recently designated by the White House Millennium Council as Connecticut’s Millennium Legacy Trail. The trail is a unique partnership involving ten museums and historic sites and is the only one of the fifty state trails devoted to art.

The exhibition features two or three paintings from each site on the trail and will trace the American Impressionist art movement in Connecticut, widely considered to be its “birthplace.”

Drawn by the beauty and peace of Connecticut’s shoreline and countryside, many prominent artists flocked to the state at the turn of the century to establish artist colonies in Cos Cob and Old Lyme. These sites and the Branchville farm of J. Alden Weir became critical to the creation of American Impressionism and are featured stops along the trail.

They are joined by art museums housing prime examples of the art that was embraced by turn-of-the-century America. The Farmington home of a collector of French Impressionism and a corporate collection of Connecticut Impressionism famed for its breadth and quality complete the tour.

“The designation of the Impressionist Art Trail as Connecticut’s Millennium Legacy Trail is testament to the importance of art in our state’s history,” said John Ostrout, executive director of the State Commission on the Arts.

“We should all be very proud of Connecticut’s seminal role in the establishment of a significant artistic movement recognized around the world. The Millennium Legacy Trail designation will help preserve this remarkable piece of Connecticut’s heritage for generations to come,” Mr Ostrout continued.

Millennium Trails is a national initiative of the White House Millennium Council in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to promote, enhance and construct trails across America that will connect communities for centuries to come. The nations’ governors nominated the fifty Millennium Legacy Trails.

The Connecticut Impressionist Art Trail is comprised of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Bush-Holley Historic Site in Cos Cob, Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton, Yale University Art Gallery in new Haven, Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, the collection of Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. in Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, and New Britain Museum of American Art.

Hildy Cummings, a noted authority on American Impressionism, has organized the exhibition. Trained docents will be on hand at the Old State House to guide visitors. Lesson plans will also be made available for school groups.

The Old State House is at 800 Main Street in Hartford. Visiting hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm, and Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm. Admission is free. For more information about the exhibition, call the Old State House at 860/522-6766 or Connecticut Commission on the Arts at 860/566-4770.