During the short days and long nights of late, as many best-laid plans have gone kerfluey again, my mind keeps returning to the power of choices and how grateful I am to have them.
I think also about the ways Hill-Stead has chosen to respond to the ever-changing circumstances of our pandemic-era lives: our team’s decision, again and again, to turn Why into Why Not, openly and bravely facing whatever that brings; and our survivor’s refusal to throw in the towel despite the seemingly endless waves of challenge.
Sometimes I don’t make it, but I try hard to count my blessings every day. This includes the many –no, better– countless quiet words of thanks for the people who also believe Hill-Stead is incredible and worthy of our love and support.
Three of these people are stepping forward now, to collectively fund a matching gift of $7,500 for this year’s Giving Tuesday. An artist, a professor, and a local parent of school-aged children – perfectly aligned with our annual fund pillars of art, education, and the future – are each donating $2,500 to inspire our donors to match their support this upcoming Tuesday, November 30. I find their leading gesture, in line with the “in it together” spirit of our times, beautiful and humbling. And now I say more quiet words of enormous thanks. Continue reading →
The day after Halloween is usually slow-moving, as we shake out the cobwebs and off the candy hangover. But this November 1, I’m feeling energized, and slightly giddy, thinking ahead to the holiday season before us: a chance to gather in counting our blessings and to rejoice. Finally.
This season at Hill-Stead also brings our most important fundraising, the Annual Fund. For the Herculean task we face, of raising 90% of our operating budget every year, these donations are critically important. They are the biggest gear in our Hill-Stead engine, without which we simply could not run.
Degas’ pastel The Tub is included in “Great Works, In Focus,” a series in the Washington Post featuring art critic Sebastian Smee’s favorite works in permanent collections around the United States
[The Tub] by Edgar Degas in the collection of the Hill-Stead Museum, a little-known museum in Farmington, Conn., is one of my favorite works in any American collection. At the most basic level, it is just a wonder to me that one human would respond to another by making something like this.<span class="su-quote-cite"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2021/edgar-degas-the-tub/" target="_blank">Sebastian Smee</a></span>
Our Carriage Barn renovation won the AIA Connecticut 2021 Elizabeth Mills Brown Excellence Award!
We are thrilled to update this story with joyous news: Hill-Stead’s renovation has won the 2021 Elizabeth Mills Brown Excellence Award from the Connecticut Chapter of the American Institute of Architects!
We believe that our founder, the architect Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946), who was an AIA member, would be exceptionally pleased by this recognition of design excellence in the adaptation and reuse of the historic carriage barn structures.
Hill-Stead is grateful to our partners, Centerbrook Architects and Planners, and collaborators who joined this successful team, including BVH/Salas O’Brien, George Sexton Associates, and PAC Group. Further, we appreciate the crucial support of the Connecticut Department of Economic Community Development and the State Historic Preservation Office. Together, we proudly – using the words of the jury – “…made an already exciting place even more exciting.”
For a summary of the renovation, told in compelling fashion through concise description and a beautiful combination of before and after photographs, please see the publication created by Centerbrook.
The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Provides Hill-Stead with $18,000 Grant for its Performing Arts Programming
L’Affaire Musicale Returns to Hill-Stead this Fall
Hill-Stead Museum’s L’Affaire Musicale returns to the historic Drawing Room on Friday, November 12. Ballard Chamber Collective will perform in this much-anticipated live concert, made possible by an $18,000 gift from The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Hill-Stead is immensely grateful to the Garmany Fund for this generous support, which underwrites the Museum’s robust year-round calendar of musical performances, including this upcoming Musicale with classical selections from some of the world’s most celebrated composers.
According to David Polk, advisor for the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, “Hill-Stead Museum is one of the region’s most treasured and timeless resources. It deserves the support and appreciation of all of us in the greater Hartford community for its art, architecture, accessibility, beauty, history and health & wellness benefits. The Garmany Fund is proud to be a contributor in Hill-Stead’s ongoing success as it embarks on the new chapter.”
This upcoming L’Affaire Musicale will take place among some of the finest pieces in the museum’s collection, including works by Monet, Manet and Degas. This intimate and transporting setting is ideal for the appreciation of music. Furthermore, the performing arts illuminate the fine and decorative arts of the room, creating a stimulating dialogue between various times periods, cultures and art forms. Past performances have featured classical and contemporary styles, including jazz, opera, Broadway and the Great American Songbook. Ballard Chamber Collective, a string trio composed of Jaroslaw Lis (violin), Ari Isaacman-Beck (viola) and Ignacy Gaydamovich (cello), will headline the 2021 performance and present Beethoven’s Serenade Op.8 and Schubert’s Trio in B Flat Major D581.
On the brink of its 75th anniversary as a museum, Hill-Stead continues to offer enriching experiences and is fortunate to be sustained by such incredible supporters as the Richard P. Garmany Fund. The Fund was the leading supportive force behind Hill-Stead’s From the Porch, the multicultural performing arts series, a community-building venture that attracts an extraordinary number of new voices to Hill-Stead. In its second season, these uplifting performances of music, dance, film, spoken word and most recently, famed dance troupe Pilobolus brought much-needed light and joy during dark days.
Dr. Anna Swinbourne says, “We are tremendously grateful to the Garmany Fund. Its enduring and leading support makes it possible for Hill-Stead to host unique programs, with topnotch musical performances in exceptional settings, both indoors and out.”
The generous donation will also champion the renowned Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, which celebrates its 30th season in 2022. This one-of-a-kind event celebrates Poets Laureate, Pulitzer Prize winners and prestigious award recipients. The community cherishes this annual series of readings and music performances on the grounds of this National Historic Landmark in the heart of Farmington, CT. This year’s three-day festival took place on September 10-12, 2021. It featured inspiring presenting poets Jenny Xie, Martín Espada and current Connecticut Poet Laureate Margaret Gibson.
With the completion of its new Carriage Barns renovation project, Hill-Stead now boasts a brand-new exhibition gallery and a new media space ideal for topical and thought-provoking year-round presentations to engage learners of all ages.
I’ll admit that the end of summer might be my least favorite time of year. And it’s especially hard to say goodbye to the wonderful art- and fun-filled months we just had at the museum. Yet, as I look to Labor Day and another autumn of COVID, I cannot help but feel a crazy-deep gratitude for the grounds at Hill-Stead. They will carry us through. Again.
Hill-Stead Museum Completes Its Carriage Barns Restoration!
Hill-Stead Museum executive director Dr. Anna Swinbourne announced at a June 22 ribbon-cutting ceremony, together with Governor Lamont, Bank of America, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and Hill-Stead’s Trustees & Board of Governors that the ambitious transformative renovation project to expand and elevate the institution has taken a major step forward with the completion of its Carriage Barns renovation and the public launch of Bringing Art to Life, its $6.9 million capital & endowment campaign.
“Hill-Stead has become a thriving home for arts, culture, and education, welcoming visitors from across the state and around the globe,” said Governor Ned Lamont. “Spurred by the need to address rotating exhibitions in conversation with its world-class collection, more than a million visitors since its opening in 1947 and an increasingly robust schedule of public programs, the building project will add significant capacity to serve diverse audiences.”
The announcement coincides with a lead gift of $500,000 from Bank of America—the largest corporate gift in the Museum’s history. “Bank of America believes in the power of the arts to help communities thrive, educate and enrich our society and create greater cultural understanding,” said Joe Gianni, President, Bank of America of Greater Hartford. “We are proud to be part of Hill-Stead’s growth into a nationally recognized epicenter for arts and educational initiatives, and this transformative gift underscores the institution’s key role in our community.”
Renowned architect Centerbrook Architects & Planners, a longtime partner in enhancing the Museum’s facility, steered the renovation. Project leads were Chad Floyd, principal; and Charles Mueller, senior director and principal of Centerbrook; Paul Campanelli, Joseph Sosnicki, and Carl Cote of PAC Group LLC. Construction began in September 2020 and culminated in June 2021 with a dramatic new presence for the Museum which maintains its historic footprint.
Total project costs were approximated at $4.3 million to fund the renovation of its existing spaces; an additional $2.6 million will expand its endowment and support operations, exhibitions and programming. To date, the campaign has raised more than $5.7 million through gifts received and pledges as it now moves into its public phase, chaired by Marie O’Brien.
“We are elated by the swift progress of the campaign and grateful for the tremendous generosity of our donors,” said Dr. Swinbourne. “With Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s initial support of $1.75M along with Bank of America’s remarkable anchor gift, our public and private supporters have demonstrated their commitment to our vision for the future and the continued vitality of our beloved cultural hub. The state-of-the-art new space allows us to present compelling, rotating exhibitions and unique programming and to make Hill-Stead an even more vibrant center for meaningful learning experiences.”
Hill-Stead Museum received support for this project in part from the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program (CGS &10416c) administered by SHPO, an organization within the Department of Economic and Community Development. Eversource Energy was the purchaser of the state historic tax credits. Hill-Stead is deeply grateful for significant support from Caroline C. Edwards, Agnes Gund, Susan Gerbi McIlwain, Trumbull Family Foundation and William H. & Marianne Watson. Generous support has come from Hill-Stead’s Trustees & Board of Governors, as well as other philanthropic-minded families, corporate funders and foundations.
Decades of planning and incremental support from devoted donors underlie the project’s completion. Without altering its footprint, the historic Carriage Barns have now been transformed into an exhibition gallery and a new media space for topical and thought-provoking presentations. The renovation adds a 1,300 square-foot beautiful exhibition gallery, a new media space, a gorgeous terrace for public and private gatherings, a more welcoming public entrance and a thoughtfully-curated museum shop. The physical transformation will help preserve and empower Hill-Stead for generations to come with year-round exhibitions and public programming.
On the brink of its 75th anniversary, Hill-Stead Museum and its entire 152-acre campus received designation as a national historic landmark earlier this year. The Museum’s historic house has held this distinction since 1991. Hill-Stead was the first architectural project of founder Theodate Pope Riddle (1867–1946), one of the first licensed female architects in the U.S. and an early proponent of historic preservation. A love poem to her parents, the Colonial Revival mansion with its 152 acres of gardens and grounds and a treasure trove of Impressionist paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas, Whistler, and Cassatt has welcomed over a million visitors since opening to the public in 1947. Hill-Stead now unveils its new renovation project to ensure its extraordinary legacy.
Hill-Stead held an incredible ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, June 22! Together with Governor Lamont, Bank of America, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and Hill-Stead’s Trustees & Board of Governors, the team announced to a standing-room-only audience that the ambitious, transformative renovation project to expand and elevate the institution has taken a major step forward with the completion of its Carriage Barns renovation.
The announcement coincided with a lead gift of $500,000 from Bank of America—the largest corporate gift in the Museum’s history. We are ever grateful!
Please continue to support Bringing Art to Life as we launch the public phase of our $6.9 million capital & endowment campaign.
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Photographs by Bread & Beast Photographer
Bringing Art to Life – Hill-Stead’s 75th Anniversary Capital and Endowment Campaign
Please read our Case Statement validating the importance of this renovation to the future of Hill-Stead for generations to come!
