From October 5, 2012 through January 27, 2013, the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, will host the exhibition The Art of First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson: American Impressionist, illuminating the artistic career of the wife of President Woodrow Wilson, the nation's 28th president.

Women artists have long struggled against indifference, neglect, and hostility in the art world, especially during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when art colonies were being formed in every region of the country. The majority of the students taking plein air painting classes in these summer colonies were young women, but instruction was almost always provided by men. The teachers depended on the income from their devoted students, but many of the men were openly opposed the professional advancement of women artists.