Old Lyme Congregational Church

Coordinates: 41°18′46″N 72°19′55″W / 41.3129°N 72.3319°W / 41.3129; -72.3319

Church at Old Lyme, oil on canvas, Childe Hassam, 1905.

The Old Lyme Congregational Church is located in Old Lyme, Connecticut. The church is noted as a favorite subject of Lyme Art Colony painters.^[1] It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.

History

The first Meeting House was built in 1665 and the first minister was Moses Noyes. New buildings were constructed in 1689 and in 1738. The present building was erected in 1816-7 by architect Samuel Belcher, Belcher also designed the John Sill and William Noyes houses on Lyme Street.^[2] The building was burnt down in a July 3, 1907 fire, then rebuilt with help from artists at the Old Lyme art colony in 1908-9.

The building was recently restored by architect Stephen Lloyd.^[3]

Paintings

Impressionist Childe Hassam depicted the church in a series of three celebrated paintings from 1903 to 1906. One hangs in the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York. It can be viewed at ^[4] One hangs in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. It can be viewed at ^[5][6] Hassam's paintings helped bring publicity to the Old Lyme art colony and helped tourism in the town. Other artists at the colony, including Charles Ebert and Everett Warner (in about 1911), also tried their hands at painting the church.

References

1. ^ ART; Art Takes a Prominent Spot In Chester's New Synagogue, By WILLIAM ZIMMER, New York Times, December 9, 2001 [1]
2. ^ http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=973
3. ^ ART; Art Takes a Prominent Spot In Chester's New Synagogue, By WILLIAM ZIMMER, New York Times, December 9, 2001 [2]
4. ^ http://www.museuma.com/frederick-childe-hassam/church-at-old-lyme.html
5. ^ http://www.flogris.org/learning/foxchase/html/childe_hassam.php
6. ^ http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Hassam/gallery_6.3.asp

External links

• Official website of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme