Upon their first visit to Newport Art Museum, new MUSE students walk into the grand entry of the John N. A. Griswold House. As they stand in the central axis of one of the most treasured architectural gems in North America, students cast their eyes around the beautifully ordered interior. As they learn about the significance of architect Richard Morris Hunt’s design, how it was built for the Griswold family as their country house in 1864 and later became the Newport Art Association, now Newport Art Museum, in 1912, they begin to explore the house as they begin their MUSE program experience.
During the MUSE class, students are shown a series of museums and historic sites, each of which has a story to tell. Students learn how sites tell their stories in different ways as part of curatorial interpretation. This spring, for the first time, students can add a new level to their visit with the new multi-media tour of the Griswold House. During the tour they learn about the house’s many interior and exterior features from the tour narrator, noted architectural historian Dr. Richard Guy Wilson.
Take the tour and discover how inventive and brilliant young Richard Morris Hunt was in his conception for the Griswold House.