CT museums and galleries offering virtual tours, exhibits
Connecticut is rich with art galleries, museums and artists in all corners of the state, with gorgeous and engaging exhibits opening every week. Unfortunately, many of those galleries are still closed in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Still, some are opening, and it’s only a matter of time before all the galleries and museums are open again. In the meantime, there is a lot of art to be seen, in open museums or outoor exhibits, in online exhibits and Facebook live events. When venturing out, keep social distancing in mind.
Venues that are open to the public, as well as outdoor exhibits, are listed at the top of this file, by county. Visit their websites for social distancing rules. The venues that are still closed but have virtual offerings are listed in the “online” section.
Mark Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave. in Hartford: The historical home museum is open for small tours, by reservation only. Also, a 3D virtual tour can be seen at marktwainhouse.org/about/thehouse/virtual-tour/. A virtual reality tour also is available at that URL, but certain software must be downloaded.
New England Carousel Museum, 95 Riverside Ave. (Route 72) in Bristol: “Carousel Art of This Century” will be on view until Aug. 16. Online: “A video tour of the museum can be found at thecarouselmuseum.org/ online-content.
Main Street in Hartford: A stroll down Main Street provides ample artworks to view. In front of the library, there is a sculpture by David Hayes and a statue of Mark Twain. Between City Hall and Wadsworth Atheneum is Alexander Calder’s massive red “Stegosaurus.” In front of the Atheneum are a statue of Nathan Hale and sculptures by Conrad Shawcross, Tony Smith and
William Turnbull. Across the street from the Atheneumn is Carl Andre’s “Stone Field Sculpture.” Also across the street from the Atheneum is the Bushnell Towers sculpture garden. thewadsworth.org.
Simsbury Art Trail: The Simsbury Art Trail, which this year focuses on the world of Seward Johnson, will be on view throughout the town until Sept. 29. Map here: simsburyarttrail.com.
David Hayes Sculpture Fields, 905 South St. in Coventry: The fields, which surround the home of the sculptor (1931-2013), are open to the public for selfguided tours. davidhayes.com.
Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave. in New Haven: The gallery is open Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and other times by appointment. Masks required. Until July 12, the artists on view are Kim Weston and Frank Bruckmann. The gallery also presents a series of art talks, “Salon Thrive,” on Sundays at 5 p.m. at http:// www.kehlerliddellgallery.com/.
City Gallery, 994 State St. in New Haven: “Where I Go Is What I See: Photographs by Joy Bush” can be seen all summer, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment. city-gallery.org.
University of Connecticut in Storrs: An online guide to two campus art and sculpture hunts, one for the north campus and one for the south campus, can be found at https://benton.uconn.edu/campus-artand-sculpture-hunt/.
Six Summit Gallery Grand Art Salon, 314 Flat Rock Place, Suite 140 in Westbrook: Artwork by Gunnar Magnus, and a 20-artist show, “Resurgence,” about resilience in the face of pandemic, will be up until July 30. sixsummitgallery.com.
Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St. in Old Lyme: Reopening to the public on July 7 with the exhibits “Fresh Fields: American Impressionist Landscapes from the Florence Griswold Museum,” which will run until Nov. 1. Five exhibits can be seen online at florencegriswoldmuseum.org/exhibitions: “The Exacting Eye of Walker Evans,” of work by the legendary photographer (1903-1975); “Silver Wings and Golden Scales: Work by Jennifer Angus,” of a Griswold House installation using real insects; “Dear, Dear Husband,” of letters exchanged between Florence Griswold’s parents; “With a Needle & Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery From the Connecticut River Valley,” of needlework from the late 18th and early 19th centuries; and “Woodrow & Ellen Axson Wilson in Old Lyme,” an exhibit of work by the first wife of the U.S. president, who painted at the Old Lyme art colony. On florencegriswoldmuseum.org/learn/seechange/, an in-depth study of George Henry Durrie’s “Seven Miles to Farmington” can be viewed. The museum also has a YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/ GriswoldMuseum. In addition, the museum encourages people who want to take a walk to visit the outdoor Artists Trail.
Cooley Gallery, 25 Lyme St. in Old Lyme: “Just In!” an exhibit of newly acquired works, is up for the month of July. cooleygallery.com.
Gilbert V. Boro Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds, 80 Lyme St. in Old Lyme: The sculpture grounds, with works by Boro and other artists, is on private property but is open to the public. Boro asks guests not to enter any buildings. A YouTube video about the grounds, part of the Smithsonian Channel documentary series “America: Over the Edge,” can be seen at gilbertboro.com.
Eckert Fine Art, 12 Old Barn Road in Kent: Eric Forstmann’s “Shelf Employed” can be seen Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., three visitors at a time. janeeckertfineart.com.
Five Points Gallery, 33 Main St. in Torrington: “Dislocation: Jacqueline Metheny,” “The View from Here: Suzan Scott” and “Paying Attention | Don Bracken, Richard Alan Cohen, Susan Hackett, Randy Orzano” can be seen Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.
Online, there are virtual tours of the exhibits by Don Bracken, Richard Alan Cohen, Susan Hackett, Randy Orzano, Jacqueline Metheny and Suzan Scott are at fivepointsgallery.org/ virtual-tours.html.
David M. Hunt Library, 63 Main St. in the Falls Village section of Canaan: “Slate of the Art 2020: Knowledge Transfer” will be up until Aug. 29. Artwork by fifth- to eighth-grade art students from Lee H. Kellogg School will hang alongside work by adult artists Danielle Mailer, Ken Musselman, Lori Barker, Robert Cronin, Amelia de Neergaard, Sarah Martinez, Robert Andrew Parker and Kathy Wismar. huntlibrary.org
Kenise Barnes Fine Art, 7 Fulling Lane in Kent: “Iris Blue Each Spring: Julie Maren and Janna Watson” is up until July 26. kbfa.com.
Bruce Museum, One Museum Drive in Greenwich: “On the Edge of the World: Masterworks by Laurits Andersen Ring from SMK — the National Gallery of Denmark” is up until
Aug. 9. “Under the Skin” is up until Nov. 29. brucemuseum.org.
Stamford Museum and Nature Center, 39 Scofieldtown Road, is showing “Art and the Animal” until Sept. 7. Also, online, an exhibit, “Nathalia Edenmont: Fruitfulness” at egstudios.us/tours/stamfordct/StamfordMuseum/ gallery.html.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St. in Ridgefield: “Eva LeWitt: Untitled (Mesh A-J)” is up until Aug. 23. “Weather Report,” an exhibit of work by Bigert & Bergström, Barbara Bloom, Sara Bouchard, Josh Callaghan, Nick Cave, Violet Dennison, Bryan Nash Gill, Andy Goldsworthy, Nancy Graves, Ellen Harvey,
Ayumi Ishii, Jitish Kallat, Kim Keever, Byron Kim, Damian Loeb, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Colin McMullan, Hitoshi Nomura, Pat Pickett, Sean Salstrom, Jennifer Steinkamp, Amanda Bunce, Joel Salisbury and Michael Vertefeuille,. is up until Aug. 23. “Zoë Sheehan SaldañaThere Must Be Some Way Out of Here” is up until Oct. 4. aldrichart.org.
New Britain Museum of American Art, 56 Lexington St.: “Kara
Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)” can be seen at nbmaa.org/online, which also has curatorial chats, art activities, video lessons and a scavenger hunt. Also, NBMAA, and The Glass House in New Canaan, are presenting online offerings based on their respective Anni.Albers exhibits. Visit nbmaa.org/exhibitions/ annialbers as well as theglasshouse.org/learn/annialbers.
The Glass House, 199 Elm St. in New Canaan: The Glass House, with New Britain Museum of Americna Art, are presenting online offerings based on their respective Anni Albers exhibits. Visit nbmaa.org/ exhibitions/annialbers as well as theglasshouse.org/ learn/annialbers.
Mary C. Daly RSM Art Gallery at Mercy by the
Sea, 167 Neck Road in Madison: “The Colors of Haiti,” an exhibit of paintings by Patricia Brintle, can be seen at https://www.mercybythesea.org/campus/ mary-c-daly-art-gallery/ the-colors-of-haiti/
Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St. in New Haven: At artgallery.yale.edu/onlinefeatures, there are two exhibits: the photography show “Robert Adams: The Place We Live”; and “DuraEuropos: Excavating Antiquity,” an exhibit of photographs of an archaeological dig in Syria at which items in the museum’s collection were found. YUAG also has a YouTube channel featuring highlights from past exhibits: youtube.com/user/ yaleartgallery.