More About Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum to present a new exhibition on icons in collaboration with CSOPA
– The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, in collaboration with The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, will present “The Evolving Icon.” This group exhibition will open to the public on Oct. 7, 2026, at 12 p.m. and run through Jan. 3, 2027. The exhibition viewing will be included with the purchase of a guided house tour at Click for Details. An exclusive preview will be featured at the Mansion’s “Red Carpet Gala” on October 3, 2026. The Artists’ Reception will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2026, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
The artists included in the exhibition are: Don Arsenault, Gigi Barrett, Linda Champanier, Michel Delafontaine, Katy Despot, Cary Gersh, Jeanine Jackson, Arlene Markoya Lawrence, Ana Paula Martins, Deborah Howland-Murray, Sharon Rubinstein, Nancy Stember, Elizabeth Thomas, Connie van Rhyn, Cindy Wagner, ShawnaLee Waterbury-Kwashnak, and Robert Francis Whelan.
This art exhibit was juried by Laurel Stern Boeck, a classically trained artist with an award-winning career in both portraits and landscapes. Ms. Boeck began her studies at the Art Students League of New York, earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, and further honed her skills at the John Murray Atelier before completing her MFA at the New York Academy of Art. Through her authentic approach and attention to fine detail, she captures the likeness and essence of her subjects. Her work can be seen in private collections, boardrooms, universities, supreme courts, and Washington institutions.
This exhibition will focus on hand-rendered portraiture, spanning traditional realism, classical approaches, contemporary interpretations, and experimental, conceptual work.
LMMM Trustee and Art Committee Chair Gail Ingis will curate this exploration.
LMMM’s 2026 contemporary art exhibits are sponsored in part by LMMM Trustee Kathy Olsen, CPA and Trustee Gail Ingis. 2026 programs are made possible in part by LMMM’s Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk, The Maurice Goodman Foundation, Inc., and Lockwood-Mathews Foundation, Inc.; LMMM’s Leadership Patrons: Dr. Michele and Attorney Miklos Koleszar; and The Sealark Foundation, Inc. For more information on tours and programs, please visit Click for Details, email info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.
.
Artwork: Ana Paula Martins, Celebrating Carmen, Oil Painting
The artists included in the exhibition are: Don Arsenault, Gigi Barrett, Linda Champanier, Michel Delafontaine, Katy Despot, Cary Gersh, Jeanine Jackson, Arlene Markoya Lawrence, Ana Paula Martins, Deborah Howland-Murray, Sharon Rubinstein, Nancy Stember, Elizabeth Thomas, Connie van Rhyn, Cindy Wagner, ShawnaLee Waterbury-Kwashnak, and Robert Francis Whelan.
This art exhibit was juried by Laurel Stern Boeck, a classically trained artist with an award-winning career in both portraits and landscapes. Ms. Boeck began her studies at the Art Students League of New York, earned a BFA from the School of Visual Arts, and further honed her skills at the John Murray Atelier before completing her MFA at the New York Academy of Art. Through her authentic approach and attention to fine detail, she captures the likeness and essence of her subjects. Her work can be seen in private collections, boardrooms, universities, supreme courts, and Washington institutions.
This exhibition will focus on hand-rendered portraiture, spanning traditional realism, classical approaches, contemporary interpretations, and experimental, conceptual work.
LMMM Trustee and Art Committee Chair Gail Ingis will curate this exploration.
LMMM’s 2026 contemporary art exhibits are sponsored in part by LMMM Trustee Kathy Olsen, CPA and Trustee Gail Ingis. 2026 programs are made possible in part by LMMM’s Distinguished Benefactors: The City of Norwalk, The Maurice Goodman Foundation, Inc., and Lockwood-Mathews Foundation, Inc.; LMMM’s Leadership Patrons: Dr. Michele and Attorney Miklos Koleszar; and The Sealark Foundation, Inc. For more information on tours and programs, please visit Click for Details, email info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, or call 203-838-9799.
.
Artwork: Ana Paula Martins, Celebrating Carmen, Oil Painting
Date & Time
October 7, 2026
12:00pm - 4:00pm
Location
Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum
295 West Avenue
Norwalk, CT 06850
Contact Info
Learn More
Communities
Add to My Calendar
More About Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum is regarded as one of the earliest and most significant Second Empire Style country houses in the United States. Built by renowned financier and railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood from 1864-1868, the Mansion, with its unparalleled architecture and interiors, illustrates magnificently the beauty and splendor of the Victorian Era.
Lockwood’s financial reversal in 1869, and his untimely death in 1872, resulted in the loss of the estate then known as “Elm Park,” through foreclosure, in 1874. In 1876, the property was sold to Charles D. Mathews and his wife Rebecca. Mathews, a prominent importer from New York, and his family, resided in the Mansion until 1938. In 1941, the estate was sold to the City of Norwalk and designated a public park.
The Mansion was a technological marvel of its time: it had indoor hot and cold plumbing, gas lighting, ventilation, and a central heating system that burned a ton of coal a day. Indeed, there is no comparable mansion museum in our state. Built during the Civil War and still inhabited during the Great Depression, there is no institution in Connecticut that is better able to bring to life these significant events in American history.
When the building was threatened with demolition in the 1960s, concerned citizens galvanized to save the Mansion in one the most important and hard-fought preservation battles in Connecticut’s history. These local preservationists succeeded in saving the Mansion in 1965, and later formed the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum of Norwalk, Inc., a 501(c)(3), which was designated a National Historic Landmark, in 1971.
Lockwood’s financial reversal in 1869, and his untimely death in 1872, resulted in the loss of the estate then known as “Elm Park,” through foreclosure, in 1874. In 1876, the property was sold to Charles D. Mathews and his wife Rebecca. Mathews, a prominent importer from New York, and his family, resided in the Mansion until 1938. In 1941, the estate was sold to the City of Norwalk and designated a public park.
The Mansion was a technological marvel of its time: it had indoor hot and cold plumbing, gas lighting, ventilation, and a central heating system that burned a ton of coal a day. Indeed, there is no comparable mansion museum in our state. Built during the Civil War and still inhabited during the Great Depression, there is no institution in Connecticut that is better able to bring to life these significant events in American history.
When the building was threatened with demolition in the 1960s, concerned citizens galvanized to save the Mansion in one the most important and hard-fought preservation battles in Connecticut’s history. These local preservationists succeeded in saving the Mansion in 1965, and later formed the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum of Norwalk, Inc., a 501(c)(3), which was designated a National Historic Landmark, in 1971.
Additional Details
Location
Learn More
Did you know you can follow any of our 175 Special Interest calendars and stay informed better than ever before? See them here. You can also create your own public or private calendar here. Post events to your calendar and ours at the same time! Terms and conditions may vary based on the policies of your local Town Planner publisher.
To learn more, watch our intro video!