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.
600 Main Street, Hartford
- Wadsworth Atheneum
- Arthur E. 'Chick', Jr. Austin
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Austin was museum director from 1927-1944, and he saw to construction of the Avery Memorial, the first Modernist museum space in the US.
- Milton Avery
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Avery grew up in East Hartford and studied at Hartford art schools. He is represented in the Wadsworth Atheneum collections.
- Peter Blume
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Sketches for and the finished work, "The Italian Straw Hat" of 1952 by Peter Blume are in the permanent collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum, which also had a 2015 retrospective of the artist.
- Alexander Crane
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Crane organized the first of what became an annual exhibition of watercolor art at the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1938, in effect founding the Connecticut Watercolor Society.
- James Elliott
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During his tenure as director, Elliott founded the Matrix gallery to showcase work by living artists on a continuing basis.
- Sol LeWitt
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The artist's work is represented in the collection, including notably site specific three-story wall drawings in the Helen and Harry Gray lobby at the Main Street entrance (1996).
- Tony Smith
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Smith had a solo exhibition at the Wadsworth in 1966-67.
- Gertrude Stein
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Stein wrote the libretto for 'Four Saints in Three Acts' which premiered in the Avery Memorial.
- Virgil Thompson
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Thompson's 1934 modern opera premiered here under Austin.
- Description of Significance/Historical Narrative
- The modernist Avery Memorial wing, designed by Morris & O'Connor, was built during Chick Austin's tenure as director.
- Date of Construction
- 1844, additions including the 1934 Avery Memorial
- Historic Designation(s)
