Hill-Stead Museum — Attraction in Farmington

Hill-Stead “museum” is quite a big miss for me, especially given the admission price which is $18 for adults. That is a hefty sum for what you get to see. The comparison I will be basing it on are the plethora of house tours and museum tours I’ve done all over the world (literally). I will preface that this is the first I’ve ever encountered that was classist enough to not allow photography of any kind (without flash is the standard everywhere) which was a huge turn off.

They also are quite an ableist place (I am disabled, though not visibly so). They don’t allow advanced ticketing, which would be a big bonus to disabled patrons. They do not allow bags at all inside the house (going as far as to make a mom leave her stroller outside for her baby), and if you have mobility issues, this place isn’t going to be super accessible to you just based on witnessing that. Although, who knows, accommodations tend to come out when someone is visibly disabled and I could see this place being that hypocritical, so maybe an inquiry is worth it. I will say the receptionist wasn’t particularly warm and made us wait over 5 minutes because she was simply kibitzing with other visitors. She was even less so when I gently pushed back on the no bags issue. Again, this is not the standard anywhere. No one tells you where to go, or how to enter the museum. There are no signs, no path. No one explained to us that to view the restoration we would have to do so standing outside. We wouldn’t have even known to stop if it hadn’t been for other guests. I was unable to see the restoration work because of the nature of my disability.

There are just a few paintings worth seeing: the monet’s and degas, all of which I’ve seen other iterations of else where, in places the viewer can get closer and is allowed some personal autonomy. Again, this is difficult if you are visually disabled. I would suggest if far travel is an issue that a viewer check out the FREE yale art gallery just in New Haven, which has works by Monet and Degas as well as many other artists of note. It’s very accessible, and allows non flash photography in excess.

The house tour is small- one floor and again, lack luster for the price. There are large swaths of rooms completely roped off, with a defined path to follow. This is how most of these tours are, but then you can usually have your personal belongings with you. With places like Newport, or the Berkshires, or even a smaller place like Emily Dickinson house so close by I would say those are the benchmark and this place greatly fails in comparison.

Only marks I will give it is for the grounds- which are free and lovely. That sunken garden is something, and the heliotrope connection to Harkness was awesome to learn about.

All in all, I will not return and pay admission, but I do recommend the grounds and may re-vist those...

Easily the worst museum visit of my life, and I am 63 and have been to the world's great museums. I'll explain why below.

First, there are mostly very minor paintings, most not very good; most insignificant. There are only four paintings worth viewing: two by Monet (two of his haystack paintings) and two by Degas. And these are behind ropes making it very difficult to view from closer than about 8 feet.

Second, you can only view the paintings on a guided tour, and we are given very little time to view each work; most of the time is spent on talking about how rich and wonderful the family must have been living in this 33,000 sq. foot house---which I found dark and dreary, unimpressive, and an architectual mess.

Third, the guides are so slavish and obsequious to the family's memory who bequeathed the estate (ours kept telling us how lucky we were to be there) that it was just plain nauseating.

So, go for beautiful grounds and walk them. They're the stars here. For a truly impressive visit to a remarkable family collection, go to the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia. Stay away from the Hill Stead and...

The Hill-Stead Museum is a nice small town museum that offers a lot. The museum was the creation of Theodate Pope Riddle, one of America’s first female architects. On top of being a pioneer in the field of architecture, she also survived the sinking of the Lusitania. The house itself is a Colonial Revival style mansion. It has 19 rooms, gardens, and covers 33,000 square feet. What sets this house apart from others, is the great works of art that are displayed. The works of Impressionist artists such Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Edouard Manet can be found inside. A house tour takes about an hour here. Tickets are first come first serve at the museum. There is no photography allowed inside the house. When they are open you can walk the grounds of the museum for free. There are nice nature trails that go around the grounds and you can also see the gardens on the estate. This is a great little museum, however they should have advanced ticketing and allow photography in the house. Still, the tours are very good and this is a unique museum that is...