OLD LYME — The Florence Griswold Museum will host the free Samuel Thorne Memorial Lecture on ‘The Nut Museum’ tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. The speaker, Christopher B. Steiner, Professor of Art History and Anthropology at Connecticut College, will explore “The Visionary Art of Elizabeth Tashjian.”
This lecture will be held in Fellowship Hall at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Rd., Old Lyme and is free, but RSVP’s are requested by calling (860) 434-5542, ext. 111 or emailing FrontDesk@FloGris.org.
Elizabeth Tashjian (1912-2007) opened the Nut Museum in 1972 on the ground floor of her Victorian mansion in Old Lyme. It featured Miss Tashjian’s original artwork, collection of nuts, and a cappella performances of her songs about nuts.
Beginning in 1981, Tashjian appeared on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson as well as other talk shows. In response to her new celebrity status, Tashjian transformed herself from a painter into an avant-garde visual and performance artist.
This talk explores the unique trajectory of Tashjian’s life and artistic career and coincides with a new exhibition Revisiting the Nut Museum: Visionary Art of Elizabeth Tashjian, currently on view at Connecticut College through Dec. 6.