Art

The Bruce Museum’s art collection includes approximately 3,200 works spanning the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, with particular strengths in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American art by members of the Cos Cob art colony.

The Bruce Museum hosted annual exhibitions between 1912 and 1926 by members of the Greenwich Society of Artists, many of whom were leading figures of the Cos Cob art colony. Acquisitions from those exhibitions form the nucleus of the Museum’s collection of American Impressionism, including work by Emil Carlsen, Childe Hassam, Elmer Livingston McRae, Mina Fonda Ochtman, and Leonard Ochtman. Since that time, the Museum has deepened its holdings in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European art across a wide range of media, namely paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and works on paper. Photography represents a rapidly growing area of the collection.

The collection strategy for the Bruce will continue to emphasize the trajectory of modernism from 1850 to the present day, encompassing global contemporary art as part of its focus.

Alfred Thompson Bricher, Coastal Scene

Alfred Thompson Bricher (American, 1837–1908) Coastal Scene, n.d. Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, Museum Purchase made possible in part by the Pasculano Acquisition Fund, 2014.01

Charles Harold Davis, The Old Pasture

Charles Harold Davis (American, 1856–1933) The Old Pasture, n.d. Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 00029

Childe Hassam, The Mill Pond, Cos Cob, 1902

Childe Hassam (American, 1859–1935) The Mill Pond, Cos Cob, 1902 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 94.25

Daniel Ridgway Knight, Brittany Girl

Daniel Ridgway Knight (American, 1839–1924) Brittany Girl, n.d. Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, Bequest of George N. Morgan, 13412

Edward Henry Potthast, Harbor Scene

Edward Henry Potthast (American, 1857–1927) Harbor Scene, n.d. Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, Bequest of Erwin S. Barrie, 83.21.02

Elmer Livingston MacRae, Tea in the Arbor

Elmer Livingston MacRae (American, 1875–1953) Tea in the Arbor, 1911 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 90.09

Emil Carlsen, Peonies

Emil Carlsen (American, born Denmark, 1853–1952) Peonies, circa 1897 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 00030

George Bellows, Portrait of Augustus F. Lundberg

George Bellows (American, 1882–1925) Portrait of Augustus F. Lundberg, circa 1906–07 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, Purchased with funds from the Bruce Museum’s Friends of American Art, 2004.26

George Wharton Edwards, River Road

George Wharton Edwards (American, 1859–1950) River Road, 1918–1919 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 00028

Joan Snyder, Banished Muse

Joan Snyder (American, b. 1940) Banished Muse, 1987 Oil, acrylic, and paper mache on linen Bruce Museum, Gift of Zita and Edward J. Rosenthal and Family, 2012.11.02

John Frederick Peto, Still Life with Candlestick, Book and Match

John Frederick Peto (American, 1854-1907) Still Life with Candlestick, Book and Match, 1899 Oil on board Bruce Museum, Purchase Museum Purchase made possible in part by the Pasculano Acquisition Fund, 2007.01

John Henry Twachtman, Grey Day

John Henry Twachtman (American, 1853–1902) Grey Day, circa 1887–88 Oil on canvas

Kenzo Okada, Leaves

Kenzo Okada (American, born Japan, 1902–1982) Leaves, circa 1970 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, Gift of Barbara Bemis Bloch, 96.03

Leonard Ochtman, October Morning

Leonard Ochtman (American, 1854–1934) October Morning, 1919 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 00031

Matilda Browne, August Morning

Matilda Browne (American, 1869–1947) August Morning, circa 1919 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 00026

Theodore Robinson, Apple Blossoms

Theodore Robinson (American, 1852–1896) Apple Blossoms, 1889 Oil on canvas Bruce Museum, 2006.42

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