Past Exhibits
Time Warps: Textiles from Today's Weavers
April 20, 2013 - May 17, 2013
This juried exhibit of handwoven goods displayed the work of contemporary weavers who used both historical and modern techniques and designs. The Biennial Show organized by the Handweavers' Guild of Connecticut included articles of clothing (scarves, shawls, jackets), decorative pieces (wall hangings), and household items (table runners, rugs, towels, blankets). The work was produced by members of the Handweavers' Guild of Connecticut, an organization of handweavers, spinners and fiber artists from all levels of experience who are dedicated to the education, preservation, and promotion of handweaving and spinning.
Cooking by the Book: Amelia Simmons to Martha Stewart
January 18, 2013 - April 13, 2013
This exhibit explored the history of food in Connecticut using a diverse collection of cookbooks with recipes that ranged from the scrumptious to the not-so-tasty. It was created in a collaboration between Museum Studies students from Central Connecticut State University and graphic designs students from the University of Hartford.
Cooking by the Book showcased one of only four surviving first editions of Amelia Simmons'
American Cookery (1796), America's first cookbook, published in Hartford. Simmons' cookbook instructed women how to combine recipes from England with ingredients in America, creating a distinct American cuisine.
Cats & Dogs in Art and Life
September 27, 2012 - April 6, 2013
Portrait and landscape paintings, drawings, needlework, sculptures, decorative household items, and photographs—all from the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society and never before seen together—were on display to illustrate the practical and emotional bonds between dogs, cats, and people and how those connections have changed or endured over time.
Visitors were able to submit a photograph of their pet to be displayed in the Cats & Dogs Gallery, which featured photographs of beloved cats and dogs from the 1800s to today. For more information, check out our original Kickstarter page that got this project started.
Tiny Art: Connecticut Poster Stamps
September 27, 2012 - January 12, 2013
Poster stamps, also known as "cinderellas," are posters shrunk to the size of stamps that became popular in the early twentieth century. They are non-denominated, meaning they cannot be used to mail anything, but they were used to advertise businesses and events or to make political statements. First created in Germany around 1907, these brightly-colored advertising labels were designed by both notable artists and anonymous illustrators. People often stuck them on envelopes, letterheads, invoices, or mail packages, or just collected them for fun. Poster stamps gave almost anyone the opportunity to collect art at a fraction of the price and size of a poster.
A Tradition of Craft: Current Works by the Society of American Period Furniture Makers
March 30, 2012 - September 8, 2012
This juried exhibition of furniture, tools, and other household items showcased the work of contemporary woodworkers whose skill, passion, and appreciation of history keep traditional craft alive. Selected works created by members of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers were on display with authentic 18th- and 19th-century furniture from the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society—furniture that families once used, treasured, and passed down to future generations and that now inspires today's craftspeople. This exhibit was sponsored by:
New Life for Connecticut Trees: Furniture by
City Bench
November 1, 2011 - March 17, 2012
The furniture and household objects in this exhibition were made from Connecticut trees once destined for landfills. City Bench, the creation of Ted Esselstyn and Zeb Esselstyn of Higganum, reclaims trees from small towns and big cities to create beautiful objects with meaning, and each piece was displayed with the tree's family history, including its birthplace, significance, and life story. New Life for Connecticut Trees was an exhibition about woodworking, the urban tree canopy, and a history of our trees.
Lost Landscapes: Great Trees from Connecticut's Past
November 1, 2011 - March 17, 2012
This companion exhibition to New Life for Connecticut Trees: Furniture by City Bench featured photographs of some of Connecticut's most noble trees, most of which are no longer standing, from the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society.
September 11, 2001: Connecticut Responds and Reflects
September 5, 2006 - October 1, 2006
August 16, 2011 - October 15, 2011
The final installation of the traveling exhibit, September 11, 2001: Connecticut Responds and Reflects, featured a selection of objects, memories, photographs, audio clips and videos, as well as Connecticut's 9/11 Memorial Library, paying tribute to each individual victim. The exhibit traveled around the state each fall between 2007-2010 in honor of the 153 Connecticut men, women, and children who lost their lives in the terror attacks, as well as those who responded to the tragedy. The exhibit also traveled to the HSBC Bank, Westport in 2007, the Suffield Volunteer Ambulance Association in 2008, the Brookfield Museum and Historical Society in 2009, and the Ridgefield Recreation Center in 2010.
Dining with a Society of Collectors
May 18, 2011 - August 6, 2011
This exhibit explored the collection of George Dudley Seymour, a pioneering antique collector who left an important group of furniture, ceramics, portraiture, and other objects to the Connecticut Historical Society in 1945. This exhibition was conceived, researched, and designed by graduate students from the Public History Program at Central Connecticut State University.
Echoes from Across the Ocean: From the Caribbean to Connecticut - Works by Stanwyck Cromwell
April 12, 2011 - October 15, 2011
Echoes from Across the Ocean featured 36 collages, paintings, and drawings by Guyanese-born artist Stanwyck Cromwell who has lived in Connecticut for almost 40 years. Cromwell uses the materials and language of traditional painting and collage—saturated colors, patterns, textures, and found objects—to create works imbued with history and the way memories and personal experiences shape history. In this case, Cromwell fused memories of the Caribbean with American experiences, merging the past with the present and personal experiences with global movements.
Chance, Choice & Change: Coming to Connecticut
February 3, 2004 - May 24, 2011
Why have people moved to Connecticut over time? In this exhibit, visitors explored some of the difficult choices families made in deciding whether to come to Connecticut and the struggles they faced once they were here. Visitors were able to time themselves on the thread machine, sew tobacco leaves and set them to dry, build a brick wall, dress up, and try out a musical instrument brought to Connecticut by immigrants.
Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art and Family 1740-1840
October 5, 2010 - March 26, 2011
This exhibit showcased decorated clothing, bedding, and accessories, school work by children, and masterpieces of needlework art depicting classical scenes, bucolic landscapes, and perfectly-rendered flora and fauna. Also on display were needlework dedicated to preserving family history and the work of one remarkable family—and an even more unusual young woman within that family, Prudence Punderson. Funding provided by The Coby Foundation, Ltd. and the National Endowment for the Arts. A companion publication was created with the exhibit, titled Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840 by Susan Schoelwer and can be bought from our store.
Pictures for Victorian America: Prints by Hartford's Kellogg Brothers
January 26, 2010 - July 17, 2010
Lithographs by the Kellogg Brothers, a Hartford printing firm, help picture the lives, fashions, and interests of ordinary people in 19th-century Connecticut. The exhibit explored the process of making lithographs that were used for paintings, posters, advertisements, and cartoons affordable to the public. A companion publication was created with the exhibit, titled Picturing Victorian America: Prints by the Kellogg Brothers of Hartford, Connecticut, 1830-1880 edited by Nancy Finlay and can be bought from our store.
Amistad: A True Story of Freedom
February 18, 1998 - March 25, 2010
This exhibit explored the revolt by a group of Africans on the ship Amistad in 1839, their arrival in New London, the legal trials to determine their freedom, their life in Connecticut, and the local citizens who helped them.
She Shoots . . . She Scores! The History of Women's Basketball in Connecticut
January 27, 2009 - January 2, 2010
She Shoots . . . She Scores! showcased how women's changing social roles are paralleled in the game of basketball and how the passion to play continues to grow today. This exhibit featured memorabilia from throughout the last century and footage from some of the most exciting moments in the sport.
Small Things Considered
July 13, 2007 - November 29, 2008
From a nutmeg to a strand of George Washington's hair to the classic Wiffle Ball, visitors discovered the big impact small objects have made on history and our lives.
Connecticut Valley Furniture Made by Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries 1750-1800
June 23, 2005 - January 15, 2006
Showcasing the best high chests, secretaries, dressing tables, and other unique forms from Connecticut's golden age of furniture design and production, this exhibit introduced the specific characteristics of design, decoration, and construction used in making attributions to major local style centers—the distinctive Chapin shop in East Windsor plus workshops in Wethersfield and Colchester. A companion publication was created with the exhibit, titled
Connecticut Valley Furniture by Eliphalet Chapin And His Contemporaries, 1750-1800 by Thomas P. Kugelman and Alice K. Kugelman.
Are We Clean Yet?
October 10, 2004 - June 5, 2005
Over the past two centuries, cleanliness has been essential to our well-being. We have developed many techniques and products for keeping our homes and ourselves clean. Technology supposedly helps us develop "easier-to-use" and better products but have we really improved our ability to keep clean? This exhibit explored Connecticut's contribution to the American pursuit of cleanliness.
Heroes, Heartthrobs and Horrors: Celebrating Connecticut's Invention of the Comic Book
October 19, 2003 - September 7, 2004
In 1933, Eastern Color Printing in Waterbury produced the first modern format comic book, Funnies on Parade. In honor of the 70th anniversary, CHS introduced the general public to Connecticut's important role in the development of the comic book, particularly during the Golden Age of comics from the 1940s through the 1950s.
Finding a Place, Maintaining Ties: Greater Hartford's West Indians
July 2, 2002 - August 31, 2003
This exhibit celebrated the history of Greater Hartford's West Indian community—the third largest population of West Indians in the nation. Visitors learned about the community's beginnings around World War II and the cultural traditions that live on today.