The colony faded by the 1920s, but its home was saved. The Greenwich Historical Society bought the Bush-Holley House in 1957 and opened it as a museum the next year; in 1991 it was named a National Historic Landmark. It still tells two stories — the New Nation and the Art Colony — and hangs works by Twachtman, Hassam, Lawson, and MacRae in its galleries, so the painters who once boarded here are still on the walls.
The colony mattered far beyond the village. Twachtman, Weir, and Hassam were among the founders of The Ten American Painters in 1897, the group that carried Impressionism and the new styles across the country, and writers like Willa Cather and Lincoln Steffens stayed at the Holley House as well. For a few remarkable decades, a tiny Connecticut waterfront village sat close to the center of American art. Historians still count Cos Cob among the most important of the early American art colonies, its story set down in Susan Larkin's study, 'The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore.'
Why People Visit Cos Cob
Cos Cob offers art heritage and green escapes in a small, walkable village. Visitors pair the Bush-Holley House and its Impressionist collection with river paths, harbor overlooks, and quiet historic streets. It is tranquil, residential, and close to the water, with year-round appeal in its parks, paths, and public spaces. History and everyday life sit side by side here, from the saltbox over the harbor to the trails along the Mianus.
