With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
56 Lexington Street, New Britain
- New Britain Museum of American Art
- Sol LeWitt
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The museum holds Sol LeWitt's works on paper as well as the sculpture 'Complex Form #4.'
- Sanford Ballad Dole Low
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Low was the first director of the museum.
- Description of Significance/Historical Narrative
- The Museum traces its beginnings to the New Britain Institute, which was chartered in 1853 to foster learning by a community of newly arrived immigrants who worked in the city’s numerous factories. The art collection began modestly, in 1903, with a purchase fund for original works of art, and grew with advice from New York City gallery owner William Macbeth, to encompass art from the all periods in American history. After local philanthropist Grace Judd Landers left her mansion and endowment to the Institute, the Art Museum opened to the public in 1937. The collections include important Modernist works.
- Date of Construction
- 1903, 2006
- Historic Designation(s)
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- Local Historic District
- National Register District
- Historic Resource Inventoryfile_download