Griffin became active in the Old Lyme artists’ colony around 1905, forming lasting friendships and exhibiting with fellow painters Childe Hassam, Willard Metcalf, Ernest Lawson and John Henry Twachtman. But other coastal Connecticut towns drew artists to their shores as well, including Mystic and nearby Noank. Painted in 1902, Griffin’s charming piece titled Noank, Connecticut is rendered with the softly-colored palette and dappled brushwork demonstrating his affinity for Impressionism. He began taking part in annual shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the National Academy, which elected Griffin an Associate in 1912, before traveling abroad again in 1908.

More information about this painting...

Provenance:

Private collection, Aurora, Colorado
With Vose Galleries, Boston, inventory no. 33021, September 1999
To collection of Abbot W. and Marcia L. Vose, Boston, Massachusetts, October 1999 to present

Inscription:

1). (lower right recto) To my friend / Louis Cohen / Walter Griffin 1905
2). (in ink verso of panel) Walter Griffin / 1902 / Noank, / Conn

Labels:

1). (handwritten) #27 / Guarantee Trust Co. / 140 Broadway
2). The New Britain Museum of American Art / 56 Lexington Street, New Britain, CT 06052 / Exhibition: CT Impressionists / Dates: Jun 1-Aug 27, 2000 / Artist: Walter Griffin / Title: Noank, Conn., 1905 / Medium: oil on panel / Size: 11 ¾ x 16” / Exhibition #: (blank)

Exhibitions:

Connecticut Impressionists, The New Britain Museum of American Art, June 1 – August 27, 2000