projects > American Period Rooms: Inside/Out

The Connecticut Room was created around one original wall from a farmhouse near New Haven, Connecticut, built around 1740. The ornate paneling of the fireplace wall was the most significant architectural element of the house, which was tiny by modern standards, with only four rooms on two floors. In the 1920s, many houses built in the 1700s were knocked down or moved to make way for a reservoir called Lake Gaillard. It was at this time that the museum purchased the paneling and used it to create a new period room. Marchetti photographed the original farm site, now covered by the lake, in 2015. The artist has returned the hearth to its original location, as if it has risen out of the waters. – Alex Bortolot