Daytrip to Connecticut

I could have spent several hours at the Yale University Art Gallery but it was just the first stop on the bus trip. I would like to return and spend more time with the European, Asian and African collections. But all of the art on display seemed of such high caliber. The Yale Center for British Art, which is across the street, has some paintings by George Stubbs, such as the zebra in the Royal Garden, that have been reproduced everywhere. Great Turners, Constables, and it seemed most of the really famous British artists from the mid nineteenth century and before were on display. Neither Museum has an admission charge.

Lunch was at a very tasty American restaurant called Zinc. The director emeritus gave a very entertaining talk about Paul Mellon, who had given his collection, commissioned Louis Kahn to design the building, and left a large endowment to the Center for British Art.

The last stop of the day was at the Florence Griswold Museum . By that time I was pretty well saturated with fine art. It was the summer home of an artist colony of American tonalists and impressionists, including Childe Hassam. Unfortunately Ms. Griswold died penniless and all of the contents of her buildings were auctioned off to settle the debts. So her house is now decorated to look like it would have circa 1910. But few of the furnishings are original. The grounds were absolutely beautiful and it was easy to imagine artists painting en plein air on the lawn.