Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Downtown Hartford, CT

America's Oldest Public Art Museum

The Wadsworth Atheneum was named in honor of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. It was founded in 1842 by Daniel Wadsworth. It is the oldest public art museum in America collecting and sharing the world’s greatest art for over a century and a half.

Located on Main Street in downtown Hartford, CT, the Wadsworth is a world class art museum housed in an extraordinary building. At the time of its founding, art collections were primarily cultural luxuries and held in private. The Wadsworth was established so great works were available to the entire community.

The museum’s collection grew from Daniel Wadsworth’s pieces to include large donations from local patrons. Samuel Colt the gun-maker was based in Hartford and his wife Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt was one of the Wadsworth’s biggest art benefactors along with J. Pierpont Morgan.

The Wadsworth has built its reputation by leading the world of art collecting and presenting new ideas. It was the first American museum to acquire works from such world-renowned artists as Caravaggio, Salvador Dali and Piet Mondrian. Its collection also boasts works from the Hudson River School, Old Masters, early American decorative arts and contemporary works.

In the 1920s, the Wadsworth’s reputation grew through acquisition of Baroque art, creating one of the most important collections in the United States. The museum became an icon of art firsts. It was the first American museum to exhibit Surrealism as well as the host of the first performance of what is now the New York City Ballet. The first major Picasso retrospective in America was held here as well as the premiere of the opera Four Saintz in Three Acts. Among the guests at the opera’s debut were Salvador Dali, architect Le Corbusier and dancer Martha Graham.