Founded in 1903 in New Britain, Connecticut, beside Walnut Hill Park, the New Britain Museum of American Art is regarded as the first museum in the United States devoted exclusively to American art. Growing from the New Britain Institute, chartered in 1853, it was shaped by early philanthropy, advice to focus on American works, and gifts such as Grace Judd Landers’s house in 1934. Under leaders including Sanford B. D. Low, Douglas Hyland, Min Jung Kim, and Brett Abbott, it expanded its buildings, collection, and mission. Today its holdings span colonial portraiture to contemporary art and reflect unusually farsighted collecting.

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain