In the late 19th century, artist Martha Lamb observed that the variety of landscapes in the town of Old Lyme “would drive an artist to distraction.”
Her comment was prophetic. Within a few decades after she made that statement, Old Lyme was home to a bustling artist colony. The Lyme Art Colony, which thrived from 1899 to 1937, lured painters from all over the country to take in the lovely scenery, tote their easels out every day and paint en plein air.
Today, the Florence Griswold Museum sits on the Old Lyme property that was the heart of the colony.