Miss Florence's Artist Tree

Museum Trustees Accept Palettes into Collection
One of the most exciting additions to the Museum's annual holiday celebration has been “Miss Florence’s Artist Tree,” a 12-foot tree decorated with artists’ palettes painted by professional artists from Southeastern Connecticut and beyond. This signature tree began in 2004 with 52 palettes. Each year the Museum invites more artists add to the collection. Displayed in the Krieble Gallery together with a selection of beautifully decorated holiday trees and art works from the Museum, visitors are lingering over the display and delighting in all of its creative dimensions.

Visitors are not the only ones impressed with the outstanding quality of what was produced for the tree. The Museum’s Collection Committee, a standing committee of the Board of Trustees, recently voted unanimously to accept all 52 palettes into the Museum’s Collection. “I am particularly pleased with their decision,” said Director Jeffrey Andersen, “for it recognizes the growing role that contemporary artists are having with the Florence Griswold Museum.” The Museum is committed to growing the number of palettes each year for its “Palette Collection” so that this signature tree can become a cherished hallmark of the season.

The idea for the “Miss Florence’s Artist Tree” came about through discussions between Andersen and Director of Education and Outreach David Rau. It was decided the Museum should have a signature tree, one that related to its core story. Because many of the artists who stayed at Miss Florence’s boarding house over one hundred years ago painted directly on its doors and wall panels, Rau had the idea of inviting artists to once again leave their mark on the Museum. A small wooden palette, a traditional artist tool used to hold and mix paints, seemed like the perfect means of expression and was sent to a selected list of artists. Some of the artists who participated include Sandy Garvin, Brad Guarino, T. Allen Lawson, and Sol Lewitt. Their styles and subject matter are as varied as the individuals. Oils, acrylics, watercolors, ceramics, and collage are used to transform the palettes into traditional holiday scenes, delightful landscapes, and more than a few surprises! “Watching visitors gaze up into the tree with the look of wonder is so rewarding,” states Rau, “and truly magical.”

Sarah Gustafson
Deep River, CT
Untitled, 2007
Acrylic and mixed media on wood palette

David Macaulay
Norwich, VT
Holiday Palette/Platter, 2007
Colored pencil on wood palette

William McCarthy
Hamden, CT
Junipers Along the Lieutenant, 2007
Oil on wood palette

Eleanor Miller
Preston, CT
Reverence, 2007
Oil on wood palette

Amy Jean Porter
New Haven, CT
Tiny Horses Show Some Love, 2007
Gouache and ink on wood palette

James Prosek
Easton, CT
Untitled, 2007
Acrylic on wood palette

Lori Warner
Lyme, CT
Untitled, 2007
Encaustic on wood palette

Del-Bourree Bach
Mystic, Connecticut
Clams for Miss Florence, 2006
Oil on wood palette

Jack Montmeat
New London, CT
A Corner in My Studio, 2005
Oil on wood palette

Tom Rose
Hadlyme, CT
Florence’s Dinner, 2005
Acrylic of wood palette

Charles Chu
New London, CT
Happy New Year (Woodpecker Side), 2004
Acrylic on wood palette