Hartford Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Hartford museums supplies classes

Well hello there and thanks for checking out our post about art in Hartford. Galleries, museums, supplies, schools, shows, events and more will be discussed in detail for you today.

We know how busy some of you must be so we won’t waste your time rambling. Getting right into the best Hartford Art Galleries and Museums where you can see some of the finest exhibits in town seems like the logical starting point.

The most popular art stores in town where you can find all the supplies and materials you could ever need will follow them up. Then we will give a quick shout out to the best shows and events this area has to offer.

When the weather is nice take advantage of it by going on an art walking tour or by seeing some of the most unique statues and sculptures near you. Those who are ready to take their game to the next level could sign up for group classes or private lessons at one of the nicer art schools in Hartford.

Some may want to rent out an art studio near you when the time is right to get the ball rolling on your next project. Appraisers, dealers, and framing shops will also be topics we discuss as the post goes on.

The Northeast is an area that we have covered often on our site.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Hartford

If you want to check out the best art galleries and museums in Hartford you can head to:

Daniel Wadsworth, one of the first significant American art patrons, established the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in 1842. Its collections of nearly 50,000 works of art span 5,000 years and feature drawings, paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts.

The Amistad Center, housed within the Wadsworth Atheneum Building, includes a large collection of art, artifacts, and popular culture objects that document the experience, expressions, and history of persons of African American heritage.

With approximately 2,100 pieces of art, rotating exhibitions, a print study room, and a variety of events for students and the general public, the Art Museum at USJ provides a wealth of opportunities for art study and enjoyment.

For the past 90 years, The Bushnell has been a focal point of life in your area, serving as a one-of-a-kind meeting space for arts, education, and community events. The Bushnell, as a vibrant 21st Century performing arts center, presents, develops, inspires, and shares the finest in the performing arts; and, in collaboration with others, acts as a catalyst to improve education, promote economic development, and foster a sense of community in Central Connecticut.

Today, The Bushnell, a non-profit, is the biggest arts institution in the state and has been designated a Connecticut Cultural Treasure. Real Art Ways began in the fall of 1975, when a group of visual artists and musicians took over a rambling upstairs space on Asylum Street and turned it into a bare bones salon where they lived, worked, and displayed the work of others.

Real Art Ways is now widely considered as one of the country’s premier contemporary art locations, including films, concerts, plays, readings, exhibitions, and a gathering place before and after events. Open Studio Weekend was founded in 1989 by a small group of artists, the majority of whom relied solely on the sale of their work.

They banded together to promote their works and help one another. By the fifth year, the participation had risen to 50 local artists, thanks to this small group, the burgeoning live-in artist community establishing in the Colt Building, and additional studios on Arbor Street.

Members of Hartford Fine Art & Framing are all creative individuals with extensive experience in art buying and commissioning, picture framing, and design. There’s a lot to see in their lovely gallery and frame store. Oils, photographs, pastels, watercolors, sculptures, and fine crafts are available.

The Davison Art Center houses Wesleyan’s art collection, which is mostly comprised of graphic art and photography. In its study room they assist teaching, learning, and research, and in its gallery they give public exhibitions.

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts began in the autumn of 1973, located in an eleven-building complex designed by Kevin Roche/John Dinkeloo Architects. Crowell Concert Hall, World Music Hall, CFA Hall, CFA Theater, Davison Art Center, and the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery are among the performance and exhibition locations.

The Great Hartford Arts Council does some great work for the whole community and while we don’t really know which section to put them in they definitely deserve a shout out so we are just going to throw them in here.

Materials & Supplies Near You

These art stores near you should have all of the materials and supplies you desire:

Dollar Tree sells a variety of craft products, including paint materials, wood crafts, and flower crafts. Ribbon, raffia, crafting essentials, decorations, gems and beads, craft containers, and other cheap art supplies are available.

Jerry’s Artarama has been proudly serving artists with only the finest art materials and supplies since 1968. Custom frames, photo restoration, big format printing, and picture enlargement are all services offered by Middletown Framing. They now have their own art gallery and over 2000 frame samples to choose from.

We doubt we need to tell you what the chain store Michaels is all about.

Shows & Events

These local art shows and events are a can’t miss:

Unique and original art abounds at the Connecticut Convention Center for the second annual Hartford Artisan Showcase, from paintings to ceramics and metal arts to jewelry. This unique and fascinating exhibit, which is a juried event, will exhibit unique art and high-quality crafts throughout the weekend. The Artisan Showcase is also proud to participate in our next event.

Open Studio Hartford is a free, city-wide event, now with events throughout the month of November, starting with a popular kick-off reception, group show, performance art weekend and now, two open studio weekends. It is a collaboration designed to promote the local arts community, the artists themselves and their work and to bring people into the neighborhoods of our capital city for an enjoyable, educational and inspiring event.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

When you want to find some new unique pieces to add to your collection or figure out the true value of something visit art dealers and appraisers like:

Sandy Welch Art has a colorful, daring palette that exudes vitality and a fresh, dynamic, feminine vision. Ellen Smith Fagan has been selling excellent art and writings on the internet since 2000.

Walking Tours

Framing art supply stores Hartford lessons near you studios

Art walking tours can be a lot of fun when the weather is nice:

The Hartford Art & Monuments Walk is a walking tour on the sidewalks that highlights some of the city’s important sculpture and monuments, such as those at the Butler-McCook House, City Hall, the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the State Capitol, and Bushnell Park.

Sculptures & Statues

You might also want to take some photos of these statues and sculptures:

  • Nathan Hale at 669-615 Main St
  • Calder Stegosaurus at 10 S Prospect St
  • Monolith at 613 Main St
  • Andersonville Boy Civil War Prisoners Memorial at 210 Capitol Ave
  • Abraham Lincoln Statue at 235 E River Dr
  • Christopher Columbus Statue at 80 Harbor Dr, Middletown

Ella Burr McManus’ original twenty-four-inch model of Calder’s Stegosaurus was exhibited on May 31, 1972. The bright orange-red steel structure, constructed from the sculptor’s plans, rises fifty feet in height and spreads thirty-two feet.

Andersonville Boy is a bronze sculpture on a pink granite foundation designed by R.C. Sturgis in 1907. Sixteen abstract and traditional sculptures related to Abraham Lincoln’s life and times have been put along the Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk.

Bruno Lucchesi’s sculpture depicts President Lincoln and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe meeting in Washington DC in 1862. The Christopher Columbus Statue was constructed in 1996 by people and groups to commemorate the victory of the human spirit over hardship. It was designed by Jerry T. Williams.

Hartford Art Classes

You might be interested in private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults but either way the best art schools in Hartford would be:

The CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts is a magnet arts high school that serves students from this town and the surrounding communities. Dr. Janet Brown started the Academy in 1985. Dance, musical theater, music (vocal, instrumental, jazz, or classical), theater, visual arts, and theatrical design and production were among the majors available to students.

The Joseloff Gallery, the Donald and Linda Silpe Gallery, the Kaman Print Study Center, and Art on Campus are all part of the Hartford Art School Galleries. These exhibition spaces excite the community all year and engage students on a regular basis via unique visual experiences. They offer eight studio majors leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts , one BA program in Art History, and three MFA degrees.

The Weaving Center has been supported by a small staff and great volunteers since 2009. They teach the traditional skill of weaving as a way to boost the self-esteem and sense of achievement of the artisans.

Middletown Art Academy offers group or individual teaching to children and young people through carefully organized after-school fine art programs, as well as private fine art education to home schools. They also provide a fun summer fine art camp that includes outdoor drawing and painting.

Wesleyan Potters is a non-profit school and cooperative guild that was created in 1948 to promote the learning and development of craft skills. They teach three different media: weaving, metalsmithing, and ceramics. Youth Pottery, Jewelry, Weaving, and Sewing lessons are also available for children from elementary school through high school.

Painting with a Twist has produced 13 million paintings in 41 states through fun-filled workshops. The instructors Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney provide a space for people to unwind, relax, and be creative. Invite your friends, sip your favorite beverage, and learn step-by-step from our great local artists. This would definitely be a more casual class setting than the others.

Studios For Rent Near You

At some point you may want to rent your own art studio space:

ArtSpace Hartford is a residential development located downtown offering 46 one, two, and three bedroom apartments. Situated in a renovated historic building, the community has spacious apartments with fully-appliance kitchens, carpeted bedrooms and central air with individual thermostats.

Art Connection Studio provides arts-based programming for people with disabilities in a professional studio environment.

Framing

When you need art framing in Hartford head to:

EBK Picture Frame & Gallery provides a wide range of beautiful, imaginative, and museum-quality custom framing, artwork, and mirrors to complement your ideas. Katz Framing Company is a full-service custom picture framing company based in a private studio in the South End after originally starting on Farmington Avenue in the West End in 1984.

They provide complete lines of wood and aluminum moldings and exclusively utilize conservation, acid-free mat boards and can frequently accommodate rush picture framing requests without additional rush costs.

Throughout the year, Hartford Fine Art & Framing proudly displays unique work by local and regional artists. Oils, photos, pastels, watercolors, sculpture, and fine crafts are all available.

Custom frames, photo restoration, big format printing, and picture enlargement are all services offered by Middletown Framing. Ursel’s Web Gallery specializes in excellent paintings, bespoke framing, specialized gifts, and bespoke framing of unique artwork.

In the past we have also discussed:

Have Fun Enjoying The Hartford Art Scene

At the moment that is all we have to share about the full art scene near you. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers that you may want to check out.

If you made it this far you might just know quite a bit about the local art scene yourself. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if we may have gotten anything wrong in the comments.

We hope you enjoy your time at the best Hartford Art Galleries, Museums, Supply Stores or doing whatever it else you plan to do with the info.

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