Mystic Museum of Art (formerly Mystic Arts Center)

The Mystic Museum of Art has served as a focal point for the arts in southeastern Connecticut for more than 100 years. Founded by landscape painter Charles Harold Davis in 1913 as the Mystic Art Association, the institution opened its Water Street building in 1931 and has anchored the creative life of historic downtown Mystic ever since. In 2016, the Mystic Arts Center was renamed the Mystic Museum of Art, reflecting its expanded identity as a museum of American art. Set along the Mystic River, the museum houses four gallery spaces highlighted by the Charles H. Davis Gallery, a 1,920-square-foot room with 16-foot skylighted ceilings that fills the space with natural light. A stone terrace overlooking the river offers an outdoor setting ideal for cocktail receptions and can be tented for year-round use. The adjacent 15 Water Street Gallery, housed in a renovated landmark building, accommodates more intimate gatherings of up to 60 guests. In addition to rotating exhibitions and a permanent collection of over 250 works spanning early American Impressionism through the early 2000s, the museum hosts studio classes and workshops for adults and children. Its gallery spaces are available for private events including weddings, corporate dinners, and fundraisers, with in-house catering available and outside caterers permitted.