‘How Lucky I Am’: New ‘Jim Bach Special Collections Museum’ Opens at NCM&HS

Mark Markiewicz, an architect and member of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s Board of Governors, recalled on Wednesday afternoon how the widely anticipated new structure near the northwestern corner of the campus came to be.

Addressing dozens of locals on hand for a dedication of the new building, Markiewicz said that 10 years ago, the Board “began to question the role of the Historical Society in New Canaan and quickly realized that the organization was in reality becoming a museum.”

“It was becoming a place that required public engagement greater than the existing … [Historical] Society offered,” Markiewicz told the gathering. “Thanks to our amazing [Executive Director] Nancy [Geary] and a very forward-looking Board of Governors, the campus blossomed during the ensuing years. Beginning with the highly popular terrace at the side of The Town House, the repainting of the buildings, to new paved walkways and seating areas, the pollinator garden, and of course the recent Bartlett Gallery [Center for New Canaan History], and the superb restoration of the Rogers Studio, the campus acquired a splendid glow, obvious to all. And so the stage was set to complete the northern edge of the campus. There was an undeniable sense of momentum during the rapid sequence of campus improvements. So to embark on creating a new building was super exciting and the design fell into place with ease and harmony. The goal was to reaffirm the trend towards establishing a strong campus identity by creating a building that clearly says, ‘We are a museum.’ ”

Mission accomplished. 

Conceived, designed, supported and built by New Canaan residents and businesses, the Jim Bach Special Collections Museum features a lovingly restored horse-drawn carriage behind an Oenoke Ridge-facing glass wall, an original and working acorn press, more than two dozen newly acquired paintings by the Silvermine group of artists and the restored studio of Addison Millar, one of the group’s founding members.

The museum is named for 1947 New Canaan High School graduate, Korean War veteran and local historian Jim Bach, who was on hand for the ribbon-cutting and dedication.

Asked how he felt on the big day, Bach said, “It’s had me very nervous for a long period of time, and particularly this morning, but then I read the little mini quiz in the New York Times this morning, and there was a keyword in it—a clue, in other words. And the clue was ‘be ready to handle a four-leaf clover in your backyard.’ So that’s luck, right? So my thoughts today are how lucky I am. My luck of having my nieces and friends here, and everything of that nature.”

Moving slowly through a packed museum crowd that included the full Board of Selectmen—First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll—as well as former First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and many NCM&HS Board members, such as Andrew Ault, Meredith Bach, Ellen Cummings, Elizabeth DeMuth, Doug Dooley, Janice Luddy and Frances Wilson, attendees admired the restored carriage bathed in sunlight, read about the acorn press from educational materials posted behind the working machine, admired the Silvermine paintings and mingled in Millar’s Studio. The dedication was followed by a reception in the Lindstrom Room at The Town House.

Geary called it “a truly joyous occasion” on a “very windy day.”

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Reviewing the Bach Museum’s history, Geary said that in May 2019, then-Board Governors Steve Gravereaux and Nick Yannicelli learned of an antique carriage that could be gifted to the museum. 

“It was at the Stamford dump,” Geary said. “We went to the dump, picked our way through it, and discovered a nearly ruined carriage. The lanterns had been stolen, the upholstery eaten by mice, the leather ripped or missing. But the glass was intact, and the ivory handles, black with dirt, had escaped whomever came to pick through the valuable pieces. Nick secured a storage space in the garage of Melissa and John Engel, and Woody Gravereaux offered his flatbed. Thus began the museum’s role in the life of the carriage.”

Longtime Board governor Janice Luddy “was honestly the only one of us who truly appreciated this find,” Geary said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Geary continued: “She had a vision. It would be an amazing addition to the collection. It would bring in visitors intrigued by such a beautiful object with a rich history. It would spur the imagination of children enchanted by the Cinderella story. Janice convinced all of us that we should restore it, save it and build a home for it. So off it went to Dragone Classic Motorcars, where over the next 18 months, Manny Dragone and his team would work a miracle and restore it to the glory you see today, work funded by the generosity of the Luddy family.”

Meanwhile, in November 2020, Ed Vollmer brought me and then-Board President Larry Caldwell to the home of Stephen Fry, the son of Linda Fry and a direct descendant of the sculptor Solon Borglum, Geary said.

“He owned the original studio of Addison Millar, one of the founding members of the Silvermine group of artists,” she said. “It’s a unique form of architecture from the early 1900s, built from the first cut of the bark, and was perhaps the only studio to survive. Ed, along with Betty Branch and Susan Gunn Bromley, had been promoting the art colony and educating the public about its importance for decades. They have helped and urged the museum to take a bigger role in celebrating this important group of artists. Their enthusiasm was infectious and Larry led the charge to bring the studio onto the campus. After lots of discussion, the Board made the difficult decision to demolish the Tool Museum, a converted garage, and instead create a new building, one that could be home to the carriage, could incorporate the Millar Studio, and could also house the museum’s very special Acorn Press.”

The only one of its kind in Connecticut, the press itself is “remarkably still operational, and is the cornerstone of a working print shop,” Geary said.

She continued: “Board Governor Mark Markiewicz volunteered to design this beautiful building, and Karp [Associates] was hired to build it. And so the Jim Bach Special Collections Museum dedicated in honor of longtime board governor, member, supporter and New Canaan historian was born. Jim is adored by all of us, and his steadfast commitment to this institution is second to none.”

The crowd applauded Bach each time his name was mentioned. 

Geary also thanked Claire and Alex Foster for the pollinator garden “that you can’t see much of right now, but will rise like the phoenix come spring,” Jim and Dede Bartlett for their support of the Jim and Dede Bartlett Center for New Canaan History, the New Canaan Community Foundation and the Connecticut Department of Economic Development.

Markiewicz said the design of the building “was driven by a search for that elusive sweet spot that simultaneously forms a link with the existing historical houses, but also expresses the modernist spirit of New Canaan.”

“Or to put it another way,” he said, “a quality of blending in and standing out at the same time, if that makes any sense. The new building is a simple structure in the form of a classic barn. It marks the northwest corner of the campus and complements a farm-like cluster of the existing historic houses. Furthermore, it echoes the original barn that used to be approximately in the same location. The new barn also stands out with a modern twist: Full glass walls at both ends highlight the major exhibits, and make a clear reference to the mid century modern houses of New Canaan.  While the exterior gives a nod to historical context, the interior gallery is unflinchingly modern, drenched in whiteness and sleek detail.”

The three display spaces—featuring the carriage, press and paintings/studio—are  designed to be “interconnected but distinctly appropriate to their individual exhibits,” Markiewicz said. 

“So that the carriage is surrounded by glass walls to maximize its outdoor purpose, the Acorn Press is the centerpiece of the printing shop and the painting gallery is merged with the reconstructed Millar studio,” he said. “The three spaces are visually tied together by the open ceiling, and accentuated by a prominent array of structural beams, emphasizing that it is one building, the Bach Museum.”

All New Canaan Museum & Historical Society exhibits are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday 10-4. Start at the Town House office.