American material culture is the focus of two new exhibitions at the Florence Griswold Museum: "Art of the Everyman: American Folk Art from the Fenimore Art Museum" and "Thistles and Crowns: The Painted Chests of the Connecticut Shore." Both are on view through Sept. 21.

For "Art of the Everyman," Flo Gris curators Amy Kurtz Lansing and Ben Colman got the chance to borrow works from The Fenimore Art Museum's renowned collection of American folk art. The items were created mostly by untrained artists, and the show aims to "open a window into the daily life and material culture of the American Everyman."

"Thistles and Crowns" focuses on painted furniture from the 1900s Connecticut.

The museum at 96 Lyme St. in Old Lyme is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. and 1-5 p.m. Sun. Admission is $10 adults, $9 seniors, $8 students, and free to ages 12 and under. Call (860) 434-5542.

- Kristina Dorsey