The Wadsworth Atheneum is one of the premier museums in the United States, and its collection covers an impressive number of years and genres. Founded in 1842, the Wadsworth started with a significant collection of early American art, but over the years it has worked hard to incorporate more modern genres and works from across the globe. By striving to include art from outside America and searching for new and upcoming artists as well celebrated old masters, the Wadsworth has evolved into a fantastic museum that has something for every art lover.

Daniel Wadsworth, the man who founded the museum, was also the patron of two popular painters from the Hudson River School, Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church. Thomas Cole was the mentor and teacher to the younger Church in the Catskill mountains, and the two men would become power house figures in the early art world of America. Wadsworth, as their patron, was able to acquire a significant number of their works for his new museum, which helped guide the early collection (Wadsworth “History”). Cole’s painting View in the White Mountains, which was painted in 1827, was commissioned by Wadsworth himself, showcases the gorgeous White Mountains of New England, and is a testament to Cole’s skills as a landscape artist (Wadsworth “View”). It was included in the original donation by Wadsworth in 1842, and it has been showcased in his museum’s halls ever since.

Thomas Cole’s star pupil, Frederic Edwin Church, also has a number of paintings at the Wadsworth. One great example of his work is his painting “Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness from Plymouth to Hartford, in 1636”, which was painted in 1846. It is of particular importance to the museum and the state of Connecticut because it depicts Thomas Hooker, the man who would found the colony of Connecticut, on his way through the wilderness with his group to where Hartford would eventually be founded (Wadsworth “Thomas Hooker”). This painting was purchased by the museum when it was finished by Church in 1846, and when viewed with Cole’s work, it is clear to see why these two men were considered some of the best painters in America at the time.

The next biggest addition to the collection was the acquisition of a Caravaggio painting in 1942. Caravaggio was a well-known Italian painter from the 16th and 17th centuries, but his work had yet to permanently come to America. Called Saint Francis in Ecstasy, this painting bought by the Wadsworth was actually the first Caravaggio to be acquired by an American art museum (“Temple” 90). Other curators and directors took note of this purchase, and now you would be hard pressed to find a premier art museum around the world without one in its collection. The painting depicts St. Francis cradled by an angel as he lies back during a religious episode, and many scholars believe it was Caravaggio showing the moment Francis received the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ (Wadsworth “St. Francis”). The painting showcased the artist’s use of dark and light contrasts, and is an important piece of the museum’s European collection. 

Another wonderful example of the museum’s European collection is Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, by Pierre- Auguste Renoir. It is an incredibly famous painting that many people have seen in books or on TV, but few realize it is located in Hartford, Connecticut. Monet and Renoir were two of the most famous painters from the widely popular French Impressionism movement, and this painting makes a wonderful addition to the collection. It was gifted to the Wadsworth in 1957, and portrays the French master in his garden surrounded by bright flowers as his works on his next painting (Wadsworth “Claude Monet). While not the only work the museum owns that falls into the Impressionist category, it is one of the better known works and well worth the trip to see in person.

 

The Wadsworth museum continued to expand its collection as the decades passed, and worked hard to include modern pieces as well. One of its best additions was a painting by acclaimed American artist Jackson Pollock titled Number 9. It was gifted to the museum in 1967 by Jane and Tony Smith. Its acquisition greatly expanded the museum’s modern art collection (Wadsworth “Number 9). It has been on display in the Contemporary Art section of the museum since it was gifted to the Wadsworth, and remains one of its most popular pieces.

The Wadsworth collection has grown and expanded over the years since its inception, and it now contains works from some of the most celebrated artists in history. This includes American landscape painters Daniel Wadsworth himself supported, gifted Old World masters of the Renaissance, French Impressionists, and contemporary painters that push art to new modern boundaries. I believe the Wadsworth Atheneum will continue to expand and improve their collections far into the future, remaining one of the finest museums in New England and across the country.

Thanks for reading! If you want to learn more about the Wadsworth Atheneum, including their visiting hours and details about their collection, check out their website at 
https://www.thewadsworth.org/

Or their digital archive at

Wadsworth Atheneum Collection

Works Cited

“History.” Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Accessed March 5, 2020. https://www.thewadsworth.org/about/history/.

“Temple of Delight; The Wadsworth Atheneum.” The Economist, vol. 417, 3 Oct. 2015

Wadsworth Atheneum Collection