First Impressions

 

MUSEUM OFFERS FRESH PERSPECTIVES

"Willard Metcalf, Summer at Hadlyme, 1914. Oil on canvas. Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of Mrs. Henriette Metcalf, 1980.8

 

 

 

The Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut promises a unique experience to every visitor: fresh perspectives on Impressionism as well as an opportunity to envision life in one of America’s most influential artists’ colonies.

Much of the experience flows from the collections and exhibitions, of course. The spring of 2008 will feature the first look at “Impressionist Giverny: Americans Painters in France, 1885–1915,” an exhibition of over 50 works organized by the Musée d’Art Américain, Giverny. The exhibition tells the story of the expatriate colony founded by American artists in the village of Impressionist master Claude Monet.

“The Florence Griswold Museum is especially suited to present this international exhibition,” explained Tammi Flynn, Director of Marketing. “The idyllic towns of Giverny, France and Old Lyme, Connecticut share a similar history. Both were creative meccas for artists at the turn of the last century. Many of those who worked in Giverny—including Impressionist Willard Metcalf—later came to Old Lyme as part of the artists’ colony that thrived at Florence Griswold’s boardinghouse. These similarities forever linked the two destinations in art history. Old Lyme became known as the ‘American Giverny’ and the Florence Griswold House (later Museum), the heart of the Lyme Art Colony, became known as ‘the home of American Impressionism.’”

The museum itself is as colorful as the works painted there. The property has been restored to the way it was in 1910, and it offers context to the collections. Ms. Flynn continued, “A visitor to the museum can actually stand where the artist stood and see the landscape as the artist saw it. You can get a sense of their lives, a sense of the artists as people telling their stories. We try to tell Miss Florence Griswold’s story, too. This landscape brought them all together.”

iR’s fundraising solution GENERATIONS is helping the museum bring its data together. Fundraising Office Coordinator Renee Cote reflected on the conversion from Giftmaker to GENERATIONS. She credits their successful transition to thorough planning.

“We communicated our needs to the iR team,” explained Ms. Cote. “We had a whole series of conversations about how things would flow. The inRESONANCE people were very good at making sure all our connections would be in place. We all had a chance to express our needs. iR was also good about making sure we didn’t lose any information. We captured donors’ past histories and individuals’ historical relationships with the museum.

"Using GENERATIONS, we are able to keep even more detailed records now. The curatorial department is sharing information about donations of works of art, archives, and other objects that we are adding to donors' records. This gives us a much more accurate picture of the total relationship. We can attach correspondence and photographs of artwork to an individual’s file. This is very helpful. We track giving histories, memberships, volunteers, and even events—we offer bus trips, visits to galleries and Broadway shows, and many special events. We are tracking everything.

“iR helped us to build the database to meet our actual needs. Here’s an example: our volunteer docents produce a directory every year. Now we have the capacity to attach photographs to the records of our volunteers. The production of a directory will be simplified.

“GENERATIONS is easy to learn. At the outset, we had a lot of very organized training from iR. We are able to customize and expand the usage and flexibility of the database. Once we got the basics we could imagine doing more. You learn as you go. We’re adapting it.”

The development staff does most of the customizations themselves, with assistance from iR. “It is amazing how much help the iR team can give with remote access. Charlie sends videos to show us how to do things that are beyond our current skill level. We will get further training at iRUniversity.”

GENERATIONS is having an effect throughout the museum, Ms. Cote explained. “GENERATIONS is helping us stay organized. All the information is central; everyone is more in the loop. The database really can expand to meet the needs of our institution. Now that we are familiar with it, we can imagine doing so much more.

“We are thrilled with it.”

 

 

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