Collection of the Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, CT.
Lime Rock
With the demise of the area’s iron industry, headquartered in Lime Rock in the late 19th century, the village’s shops and gracious buildings attracted a New York developer who saw its potential as an artist colony. By 1927, 15 artists had settled in the area and organized their first annual exhibition, which attracted 400 visitors the first day. The former general store was renovated to serve as an exhibition gallery, and nearby other artists created studios, exhibition galleries, and craft ateliers. Dard Hunter, formerly with the Roycroft Colony, renovated a former mill and iron factory into a studio to create handcrafted papers, used by prominent artists such as Childe Hassam. A theater group was established. New York City’s MacBeth Gallery included the Lime Rock Art Association in the “Art Map of New England” it published in the 1930s.