FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE LYMAN ALLYN ART MUSEUM REINSTALLS BELOVED HAWTHORNE DOLL HOUSE
November 6, 2014
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Press Contact: Rebecca Marsie, Communications Coordinator
860.443.2545 x112 / marsie@lymanallyn.org
New London – The Lyman Allyn Art Museum is delighted to announce that the beloved Victorian Hawthorne Doll House, a favorite of generations of visitors to the Lyman Allyn, has been moved to its original location on the lower level of the Museum. The 15’ Doll House has long been part of the Lyman Allyn’s collection and is remembered fondly by many members of the New London and Southeastern community as a highlight of their youthful Museum visits. Back in its “new” setting, it is accessible, looks fantastic and is much more family-friendly than ever.
Built for the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in 1962 by Harold Hawthorne, the American Victorian Dollhouse was designed to house part of the museum’s toy collection donated by Lydia Sachs Baratz. The exterior of the dollhouse was designed to reflect the Victorian tastes of its doll inhabitants with a mansard roof, dormer windows, and a widow’s walk encircling two chimneys. Three levels of the home’s interior are visible, complete with bedrooms, a dining room, a nursery, a sewing room, and two kitchens which showcase the extensive kitchen miniatures in the Baratz Collection.
Over the next several months, the Lyman Allyn will be adding an exciting new experiential learning center to a new interactive neighborhood, which will take shape around the display of the Doll House and precious toys from the Museum’s collection. The learning center will focus on the Museum’s youngest visitors, ages 3-10. The interactive activities for children will include hands-on play with toys, books, games and dolls from many cultures and many eras of history. “Children will be encouraged to use their imaginations to touch, learn and create scenes and activities in the new neighborhood. We hope it will open new worlds for these young visitors, as they learn about community, history, diversity and the visual arts”, said D. Samuel Quigley, Director of the Lyman Allyn.
This new experiential neighborhood will add a new programming dimension to the Lyman Allyn’s well-respected educational services. Field trips, tours, vacation and summer camps, Free First Saturday programs have long been part of the Lyman Allyn’s outreach to area school children. The new area will be another way that children and their families visiting the Museum will strengthen their understanding of and appreciation for the visual and fine arts. It will help the Museum introduce a new generation – and new visitors – to the beauty the Lyman Allyn offers, strengthening the quality of their lives and the life of our region.
For more information or to request images, please contact Rebecca Marsie at 860.443.2545, ext. 112 or at marsie@lymanallyn.org.
About the Lyman Allyn Art Museum
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a distinguished art museum located in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1932 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, the museum serves the people of Southeastern Connecticut and general admission is always free to New London residents. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 objects from ancient times to the present: artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts, and Victorian toys and doll houses.
The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, exit 83 off I-95. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Sundays 1:00 – 5:00 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information call 860.443.2545, ext. 129 or visit us on Facebook or the web at: www.lymanallyn.org.
