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FEATURED ARTIST
Platt Hubbard 1889-1946
A painter, etcher and architect, Platt Hubbard studied with Robert Henri in New York and was a member of the Lyme Art Association and Lyme Art Colony in Old Lyme, Connecticut .
William Platt Hubbard was born in Columbus Ohio on November 2, 1889 . His mother, Susan Platt Hubbard, served on the board of Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, as did his Uncle Rutherford. Platt Hubbard's Great Aunt was the benefactor of the Gallery. Platt Hubbard's father, Harmon M. Hubbard, was a banker. It is believed that it was Platt's parents who first came to the Old Lyme area around 1918.
Platt's early arts education was in painting and drawing at the Columbus Art School . He then began studies with Robert Henri, the American Ashcan Painter. Henri pioneered realistic painting in the US and believed the artist should have freedom of expression in art.
While Hubbard maintained a studio at 11 rue Malebranche, Paris from 1911- 1932, he frequently visited the Old Lyme area where he eventually settled on Sill Lane . The landscaping for the house was commissioned by the renowned landscape artist, Frederick Law Omstead, who created beautifully laid out gardens and a reflecting pond on the property. The house presently remains on Sill Lane and was purchased by new owners in the summer of 2004.
Hubbard was a member of the Lyme Art Association and served for many years as its Treasurer, and then as its Secretary in the 1940's. He exhibited at the Lyme Art Association starting in 1915 and running nearly consecutively through 1943. He was a member and exhibitor of the Lyme Art Colony from 1915-1939.
In 1940, Hubbard exhibited his "Winter Sun and Shadow" at the 24 th Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Etchers. The following year he exhibited "A Turn in the Road". These annual exhibitions were known as The One Hundred Prints Show. Only one hundred prints were chosen from the thousands submitted.
The Smithsonian Institute Division of Graphic Design, in Washington DC , presented a one man show of Platt Hubbard. This show was a highly coveted honor by artists and was by invitation only.
Platt Hubbard died on May 7, 1946 in Old Lyme at the age 56 from a heart attack. He never married.
By Lisa Mikulski - Gallery Manager for Fine American Art
Special thanks to Liz Farrow of the Florence Griswold Museum for research assistance.
