Living Paintings: A Museum for American Impressionism in Westerly, Rhode Island
A canopy-like ceiling and cool-toned walls highlight paintings at the Westerly Museum of American Impressionism. Photo by Warren Jagger.
New art spaces add critical energy to local communities. On the Rhode Island coast, a recently opened museum highlights a collection of American Impressionist paintings in a refined setting. The Westerly Museum of American Impressionism was founded by husband and wife collectors and philanthropists Dr. Thomas Sculco and Cynthia Sculco in 2025 to house around 300 artworks that they have passionately acquired over four decades. The museum highlights works by painters active around the turn of the century including John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam. This unique venue offers New Englanders an opportunity to reexamine a period of art history defined by atmospheric sensitivity.
The patrons who founded the new museum are excited to share works they cherish in a welcoming collection of new galleries. Dr. Thomas Sculco, says of the museum, “Cynthia and I are thrilled to share the joy and excitement of the collection with the community. We view the museum as a second home and the serenity, river views and especially better lighting enhance the beauty of the collection. We especially want to expose this somewhat neglected artform with the community to share its artistic excellence, color and light and its combined American and European influence.”
A window frames what the museum’s inaugural director calls a “living painting”, complementing the collection. Photo by Warren Jagger.
The museum’s building was crafted by the Connecticut-based Centerbrook Architects and Planners. The firm led the transformational renovation of a former rehabilitation facility into a striking cultural institution and airy space for the exhibition of artworks. Centerbrook has plenty of experience in the realm of museum planning, having previously worked on the Krieble Gallery at Florence Griswold Museum, the Thompson Exhibition Building at Mystic Seaport, the Addison Gallery of American Art, and others. Their work in Westerly creates a fitting home for Impressionist art in natural surroundings akin to those that sparked the imaginations of Impressionist painters.
Asked how audiences are engaging with the space, the museum’s inaugural director Catherine Shotick answers, “As visitors move through the museum's galleries, one of the things they respond to most immediately is the way the architects intentionally framed views of the surrounding landscape and the Pawcatuck River through the windows. Those vistas feel like living paintings—beautifully composed scenes of boats, water, and foliage that echo what they’re seeing on the walls. You might be looking at an American Impressionist canvas depicting sailboats or a shimmering river, and then you turn and see kayakers drifting past outside. That dialogue between art and landscape is incredibly powerful. The building doesn’t compete with the collection; it deepens it. It allows visitors to experience American Impressionism not just as something historical, but as something still alive in the light, water, and atmosphere just beyond the glass.”
An intimate exhibition punctuated by natural light. Photo by Warren Jagger.
Architectural photographer Warren Jagger captured the new space in a series of interior and exterior views that show off the collection, its envelope, and their impressive surroundings. A RISD alum who has photographed hundreds of buildings throughout the country, Jagger highlighted the elegant qualities of the building.
Asked what he hopes viewers take away from his photographs of the museum, Jagger says, “A two-part answer, in that their first impression is of the exterior, which I tried to show as a simple, contemporary, colorful form in a coastal meadow, gracing the landscape. For the interior, I tried to convey the calm, quiet design of rooms where the paintings are the focus, and architecture the best supporting actor. Particular care was taken to show the few interior windows as framed views of the landscape an impressionist painter might contemplate.”
Dusk falls over the elegant new Westerly Museum of American Impressionism, designed by Centerbrook Architects. Photo by Warren Jagger.
Speaking as an experienced architectural photographer, Jagger sums up his takeaways of visiting Rhode Island’s newest art museum, saying, “Because the museum is located in such a naturally beautiful area and almost rural setting, the visiting experience starts with a rewarding connection to nature and the landscape, a preface to the art inside. The paintings are wonderfully presented in well proportioned galleries, and because of the collection’s cohesive focus and size, one leaves the museum refreshed, curious, and revitalized, rather than exhausted.”
A permanent home for a beloved collection built by enthusiastic patrons of the arts, the Westerly Museum of American Impressionism is a welcome addition to the local cultural scene. Through a fusion of thoughtful design and passionate connoisseurship, the building and the art within promise to inspire new generations of artists and art lovers throughout New England and beyond.
The Westerly Museum of American Impressionism is located at 79 Watch Hill Road in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is open Thursday through Saturday from 10am - 4pm each day. Learn more and plan your visit at www.wmairi.org.
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