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Hill-Stead Museum
3 reviews for Hill-Stead Museum
Awesome...awesome!! Seeing paintings on the stark walls of crowded museums is nothing compared to seeing them hanging in the home of someone who in many cases, bought the painting directly from the artist.
Turning the corner of one beautiful room after another and being met with Monet's haystacks and Whistlers' adorning fireplaces, with just a guide and a few others, is a really refreshing, intimate experience to have with such works.
Our guide was so knowledgeable and nice, and really made the trip that much better. $9 for adults, $7 for students. The tour is about 50 minutes. If you are in the area and have a love for art/architecture history I highly recommend it!!
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Like JV said...great place to have a wedding! You can have it outside in front of the house and then get a tour...
Aside of that however, IS the house itself...it's friggin' AMAZING!!!
Theodate Pope, the FIRST American female architect designed Hill-Stead as a retirement home for her parents (who moved in on June 16, 1901)...it was her first project and she took great pains to make it just right. She even took into account the positioning of the structure on the land so that the view was just right from whichever window you so chose to look out...
When she passed away, her will stipulated that NOTHING was to be added or taken away from the home and it was to opened to the public as a museum. So when you go for the tour...you see the home JUST as she left it and just as the Pope's lived in it.
Being a well-educated and well-traveled woman, Theodate and her folks collected a HUGE amount of pretty darn cool collectibles: ORIGINAL paintings by Degas, Manet, Monet, Whistler and others adorn the walls, vases from the Ming and other dynasties along with sculptures adorn shelves and mantles. The two libraries alone were enough to make me all quivery having been a Lit major and a bibliophile...TONS of first additions!! (AND...you can call ahead to make an appointment to look at anything...they'll give you white gloves if you want to open a book, etc.).
The architecture and land itself is amazing and no single tour will do it justice...a place you have to visit more than once because there's just so much history to be found within Hill-Stead's walls.
Very knowledgeable Docent's make a visit to the Hill-Stead magical and informative...a definite NOT-to-be-missed stop in Farmington, CT. (Just a hop, skip and a jump from Hartford...)
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My sister got married here, and it was pretty spectacular. So if you're looking for a spot for an outdoor wedding, Hill-stead is a great place to drink too much champagne, remove your shoes and do some inappropriate booty dance with your uncle to the tune of Celebration.
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