Florence Griswold had an idea: artists needed a place to retreat and focus on their creative work in a beautiful setting. She happend to live in a large mansion. So, she boarded artists—both singles and married couples—in her beautiful 1817 mansion. She charged $7 a week to stay at the house in Old Lyme Connecticut. The location on the Connecticut coast provided American Tonalists and eventually Impressionists an opportunity to apply their skills in a bucolic and nurturing environment.
