Scrapbook of Oliver Lay II
n.d.
15 in. x 18 in. x 2 1/2 in.
Oliver I. Lay, II,
(1845–1890)
Object Type:
Artist's Material
Medium and Support:
paper
Credit Line:
Florence Griswold Museum; Gift of Mr. & Mrs. George Lay
Accession Number:
1997.14
This scrapbook contains 100 pages of various oil and pencil sketches, letters, business cards and photographs collected and assembled by the artist Oliver I Lay II. Lay enjoyed a successful career as a New York portrait painter captuing the likeness of such famed individuals as the artist Winslow Homer, as well as the likes of Old Lyme residents such as Captain Daniel Chadwick and Colonel John Peck. Laysville, a section of Old Lyme near Roger's Lake, derives its name from his family. Lay's diary, now in the collection of the New York Historical Society, documents his career in New York and his frequent trips to Lyme where he describes sketching the rocks and trees around mill ponds, local scenery and friends and family.