In Situ: The Painted Panels

Now These Walls Can Talk!

During the first summers of the Lyme art colony the artists began to paint scenes on the door panels of the boardinghouse. By 1905, this tradition spread to the dining room where the artists installed double rows of painted panels on all four walls.

Today, these 38 individual panels and the 8 double panels (those on doors that complete one scene) are all in situ in the Griswold boardinghouse. From classic Old Lyme subjects to exotic and faraway places, the panels present a treasure trove of artistic expression of the art colony. These are the paintings the artists selected to leave behind as their artistic legacy. Now, you can investigate the panels up close, front and back, and learn about the artists who painted them.