In Plain Sight: The Legacy Of

John Howard And Harris Whittemore

WATERBURY — The legendary Whittemore collection of Impressionist paintings will be the subject of a Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center program on Sunday, November 8.

From 1:30 to 5 pm, Ann Y. Smith, former director of the Mattatuck Museum and author of the newly-published book In Plain Sight: The Whittemore Collection and the French Impressionists, will present an illustrated account of the family’s contributions to community-shaping parks and architecture in Naugatuck and Middlebury, and their inspired collection of French Impressionism now in museums throughout the world.

Following the lecture, Ms Smith will lead a bus tour of Naugatuck and Middlebury, exploring sites that were conceived and created by the family. A reception, viewing of Whittemore family portraits, recently given to the museum, and book signing will follow the tour.

During the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, John Howard Whittemore and his son Harris Whittemore transformed the towns of Naugatuck and Middlebury with their impeccable aesthetic judgment.

“Small-town, largely self-educated men, they made a fortune in iron manufacturing and used it to enrich their community by bringing the best of contemporary art and architecture to their homes and their hometown,” explains author Ann Smith.

They brought the nation’s leading architectural firm, McKim, Mead & White, to Naugatuck to create an idealized vision of a New England community. The Whittemores were also among the first American collectors of French Impressionism, acquiring more than 1,000 works by such masters as Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, as well as American expatriates Mary Cassatt and James Whistler.

The program and the publication are the result of a 15 year collaboration between Ann Smith and Robert N. Whittemore exploring the family’s rich archives of materials that document a story that was largely unknown to the public for more than a century.

Cost for the program is $35 and includes the lecture, bus tour, and reception. Registration is requested; call the museum at 203-753-0381 extension 10.

The program will begin and end at The Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center, located at 144 West Main Street in Waterbury. It should run about three and a half hours.