Florence Griswold Home: Artistry Encased in Georgian-Style Architecture

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ the focus is on a historic home that became a gathering place for artists.

The focal point of the Georgian-style home’s portico is a dentil-molded and lined triangular pediment, which is supported by classical columns with gold-painted ionic capitals. The bright yellow painted exterior is contrasted by green shutters and white trim. The front door’s fanlight is an example of a Federal-style design element. FloGris Museum

The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, has served multiple purposes since it was built in 1817. Designed by Hartford, Connecticut architect Samuel Belcher, it originally served as the home where its namesake was born in 1850, but then operated as a Griswold’s Home School for Girls and eventually as Miss Florence’s Boardinghouse.

The late Georgian-style house with its Federal-style features, surrounded by woods and the serenity of the Lieutenant River, provided endless fodder for burgeoning 19th-century artists. As Florence Griswold explained in 1937, “So, you see, at first the artists adopted Lyme, then Lyme adopted the artists, and now, today, Lyme and art are synonymous.”