…following quote taken from the The Bristol Art Museum website. “The Bristol Art Museum was founded in 1963 by 3 Bristol ladies: Jill Pardee, Margaret Nerone and Marie Perry. Mrs. Ethel Barrymore Colt Miglietta, heir to the Linden Place Estate, offered the use of the Ballroom, which was converted into gallery space.

Nine exhibits were mounted between June and October each year (no heat) and attracted major artists like Frank Benson, George DeForest Brush, Robert Motherwell, Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, Richard Grosvenor, to name but a few. BAM also borrowed artworks from museums like the Metropolitan, Philadelphia, Chicago, Smithsonian and RISD bringing exhibits to the East Bay…”

In 1986 the Linden Place Estate was transferred to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and Friends of Linden Place assumed ownership.

Since 1990, the Museum opened to the public and has offers three major exhibits each year.

For more information visit the The Bristol Art Museum web site link above.