Weir Farm National Historical Park

Weir Farm National Historical Park is located in the state of Connecticut. It was the farm where J. Alden Weir, a painter representative of American Impressionism, lived and painted, and many artists visited it to capture nature on canvas. Its quiet fields, woods, and old farm buildings inspired the artists.

On the reverse of the coin is the image of an artist painting outside at Weir Farm. It is a scene of setting up an easel outdoors and transferring the landscape before one’s eyes onto the canvas.

This practice of going outdoors and painting nature directly by observing it was a method the Impressionist painters loved to use. For those who sought to capture sunlight, air, and the changing seasons just as they were, the scenery of Weir Farm was the finest of studios. The image of the artist on the coin honors the moment where nature and art meet.

This park was designated on October 31, 1990, and preserves, just as they were, the scenery, studio, and farm that the painters loved. In this way, the “America the Beautiful” series also honors the places where America’s art and culture grew.

Looking at the artist holding a brush on the coin, we naturally come to imagine how beautiful nature is reborn as art.