Supporting Education and Outreach

By Gavi Klein

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Eric Sloane Museum

Perched along the banks of the Housatonic River in Kent is the stunning site of the Eric Sloane Museum. The eponymous Sloane (1905-1985), long-time Connecticut author, artist and Colonial expert, is perhaps best known for his landscape paintings, capturing the serene beauty of New England. The museum grounds include a full size model of an authentic 19th-century home, the Noah Blake Cabin, which is a reference from Diary of an Early American Boy, one of Sloane’s 38 books. Much of his oeuvre centers on his extensive knowledge of Colonial times, from tools, to agricultural techniques, to folklore and beyond; the museum also houses Sloane’s impressive collection of early American tools. The museum’s education and outreach efforts are supported by the group the Friends of the Eric Sloane Museum, who aim to help preserve and interpret Sloane’s work for generations to come. “For over 50 years, the Eric Sloane Museum has been a Litchfield County landmark for history and the arts,” says Andrew Roland, Museum Curator & Administrator. “The museum honors the legacy of artist and author Eric Sloane through interactive programs and exhibits designed to encourage every visitor to be thinkers, makers, artists, and agents of positive action.” The museum’s importance is such that it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and marked as a State Archaeological Preserve.