Connecticut's Hill-Stead Museum: The Stunning Impressionist Collection

Atop a knoll above the quintessential New England town of Farmington, Connecticut sits a farmhouse built as a summer getaway and retirement home for industrialist Alfred Pope and his wife. But the home, designed by their daughter, was also intended from the beginning as a showcase for the couple's art collection.

The 33,000 square-foot home which is the centerpiece of the country estate is a great example of the Colonial Revival style of architecture favored by Theodate P. Riddle, the Pope's daughter who was educated down the street at the famed Miss Porter's School. Visitors today can enter 19 rooms in the house, still furnished and decorated as they were in the early part of the 19^th century, as part of a 50-minute guided tour. It is one of several buildings and gardens open to the public on the property, a National Historic Landmark.

But it's the Impressionist art, still hanging as it was originally inside the home, which will astound visitors. Masterpieces by Claude Monet, Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas, along with works by American artists Mary Cassatt and James McNeill Whistler, are part of a collection acquired by Alfred Pope in European trips in the late 1800s.

Pope began collecting in 1889, visiting Parisian galleries - including Paul Durand-Ruel's influential gallery, where the Impressionist movement was fostered. In the course of several trips to Europe, and through dealers in New York, Pope continued to acquire Impressionist works - often heeding the advice of Cassat or Whistler, who offered their opinions on which pieces to purchase.

Among the priceless paintings on display at Hill-Stead are four by Monet - including two from his grainstack series, the famed study of the effects of light on French haystacks. Grainstacks, White Frost Effect and Grainstacks, in Bright Sunlight capture the same scene, but in different seasons.

The museum collection includes three Degas paintings. Degas was captivated by the ballet, and produced some 1,500 works on the subject. Dancers in Pink is a vibrant and candid look behind the scenes at the ballet. But The Tub is considered to be the museum's finest piece, and is one of the last Impressionist paintings done by Degas. It is an intimate pastel-on-paper work of a woman, seen from above, standing and bathing in a tub of water.

In addition to the memorable paintings, the museum collection includes displayed sculpture, prints, ceramics, textiles and furnishings. The property is also available and popular for meetings and weddings.

The Hill-Stead Museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays year-round. A 90-minute house-and-garden tour is available on summer weekends. The estate is located at 35 Mountain Road in Farmington, CT.