OLD LYME — Newtown residents Louise and Arthur Zierzow discovered a piece of home on the walls of the Florence Griswold Museum earlier this month.

The couple, who visit the Old Lyme museum multiple times a year, were viewing “Art and the New England Farm,” one of the museum’s current exhibitions, when they saw a painting titled “Dawn, Sandy Hook, Connecticut.” The oil on canvas piece is dated circa 1933 and was created by artist Martin Lewis (1881-1962).

Ms Zierzow said “it was just by chance” that she and her husband noticed the painting among the others also on view.

“I like to read all the descriptions, [which] makes for slow going, [but it’s] not an issue since it’s a rather small, intimate gallery,” she said.

According to the exhibition label, “The Australian-born Lewis moved from New York City to Newtown, Connecticut, during the Great Depression, living there from 1932 to 1936.”

The painting depicts rows of identical suburban houses on what appears to be a former farm field. There is a figure of a person walking alone in the early morning hours, which was a common sight, as men in the area during that time period would commute to urban jobs at the start of the day.

Assistant Curator Jennifer Parsons said the museum acquired “Dawn, Sandy Hook, Connecticut” in 2015 for its permanent collection.

It was selected for inclusion in “Art and the New England Farm,” along with other artists from the 19th and 20th Centuries, to examine the history, character, and representation of New England’s farms.

Martin Lewis, according the museum’s website, is one of the featured artists that maps “the transformation and decline of the New England farm into the 20th Century with the pressures of urbanization and suburbanization.”

The presentation of “Art and the New England Farm” is sponsored by CT Humanities, State of Connecticut through the Consortium of Connecticut Art Museums, The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, and the Nika Thayer Exhibition and Publication Fund.

For those interested in seeing more of Martin Lewis’s artwork, Ms Parsons says, “Our fall exhibition, ‘Paper Trail: American Prints, Drawings, and Watercolors,’ will include a print by Lewis entitled ‘Twin Silos (1936).’ It was recently acquired in 2017 and will be in view beginning September 29 for the first time.”

“Art and the New England Farm” will remain on view until September 16. The museum, at 96 Lyme Street in Old Lyme; it is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm. For more information, call 860-434-5542 or visit florencegriswoldmuseum.org.