History of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
In 1964, Larry Aldrich (1906-2001), fashion designer and passionate collector of contemporary art, purchased the historic “Old Hundred” at the top of Main Street in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to hold his growing collection of art. Originally constructed in 1783 by Joshua King and James Dole, two lieutenants in the Revolutionary War, the building was nicknamed “Old Hundred” because it served as a grocery and hardware store from 1783-1883. It was also Ridgefield’s first post office.
In 1883, Grace King Ingersoll, a descendant of Lieutenant King, remodeled the building and it became her home. From 1929-1964, it served as Ridgefield’s First Church of Christ, Scientist. Mr. Aldrich purchased the eighteenth-century structure because of its high-ceiling rooms and the extensive backyard that would be suitable for the year-round sculpture garden he envisioned.
The Larry Aldrich Museum opened in November 1964 as one of the country’s first museums devoted exclusively to the exhibition of contemporary art. In 1967, the Museum was incorporated as a nonprofit organization and was renamed The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, with an original Board of Trustees that included Alfred Barr, Joseph Hirshhorn, Philip Johnson and Vera List. To better focus on its founding mission to exhibit only contemporary art, the Museum’s Board voted in 1981 to deaccession Mr. Aldrich’s permanent collection.
Foremost in Mr. Aldrich’s vision was that the Museum should make contemporary art accessible to a variety of audiences. Over the course of its forty-year history, it has become renowned as a national leader for its presentation of outstanding new art, the cultivation of emerging artists, and its innovation in museum education.
In 2001, The Aldrich Board of Trustees, with Larry Aldrich, chairman emeritus, in attendance, voted to proceed with a major renovation and expansion. Groundbreaking took place in April 2003, and the Museum was closed to the public until its reopening in June 2004. The grand reopening of the expanded Aldrich coincides with the Museum’s fortieth anniversary.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum continues to champion its original mission: to take risks that distinguished the life of its founder, Larry Aldrich, to exhibit provocative and significant contemporary art, and to offer innovative educational programs that now serve as national models in museum education.
THE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT
