Larry Aldrich


Larry Aldrich was an American fashion designer, art collector, and founder of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Life

Aldrich began working in the fashion trade in 1924. He began producing garments under his own label in the 1940s. He was president of the New York Couture Group.
He began collecting art in 1937, though initially it was just a circumstantial act and not from any great interest. He was married in 1940 and he and his wife bought a weekend home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. His wife had an interest in painting and, concerned about her boredom during the week while he was in New York, he began bringing home literature about art, which he himself began to read. When World War II ended, air travel to Paris resumed. Aldrich had already concluded he would like to acquire some art and in 1947, he and his wife flew to Paris with the intention of buying an Utrillo.
His collection grew to be substantial. On his way out to buy cigarettes one day in Ridgefield, Connecticut he spied a building for sale on Main Street. Seeing that it had high ceilings, he thought it would work well as a place to house his extensive art collection. After investing a substantial sum to renovate, he turned it into a museum, initially called the "Old Hundred", after the name of the building. He soon changed it, however, because the name did not indicate the contemporary character of the contents.
He founded the Larry Aldrich Museum in 1964. The Museum previously awarded an annual Larry Aldrich Award, honoring contemporary visual artists who had made an impact on contemporary art world in the previous three years.