OLD LYME — Joshua Campbell Torrance announced Thursday that he would step down as executive director of the Florence Griswold Museum after nearly three years. Torrance will depart Nov. 26 and will be succeeded in the interim by Peter Steere, the museum’s director of administration.
“It’s a very hard choice to leave because it’s such a special place, not only for us who are here, but in terms of its place in American art history,” Torrance said in an interview Friday. “There’s just no better group of caretakers to steward this institution than the team that is here.”
When Torrance was hired in February 2023, the museum was in the midst of planning a major expansion. That proposal was recalibrated, reducing the square footage to what he described as a “reasonable physical expansion,” with greater emphasis on renovating existing buildings rather than adding new space.
The new plan, which so far has been well-received by the community, still needs zoning approval, and is expected to begin next March and conclude in February 2027.
“I’m very sad I can’t see the first phase of our project happen because I believe in it so strongly. I know it’s such an important step for this institution,” Torrance said. “But I know Pete and the team are going to get it done.”
Steere, a Madison resident, comes from the health care industry. He worked for more than 20 years at Yale Health, where he retired as chief operating officer. Steere said one reason it made sense for him to serve as interim director for the next few months was that the institution was entering a period of construction and renovations.
“I do know about planning and renovations and work that sort of focuses on enhancing the sort of physical plant kind of work,” Steere said.
The renovation project calls for the museum to close for six weeks beginning in January 2026 to prepare for the construction phase.
The expansion is expected to double exhibition space to 6,000 square feet, according to project documents posted by the museum, including a new lobby and additional gallery spaces.
The total projected cost is $24.2 million, covering both construction and an increase in the endowment. As of October 2025, the fundraising campaign had raised nearly $11 million
The Search for a Successor
The Board of Trustees has not yet voted on the next step in recruiting a new executive director. When they hired Torrance, they conducted a nationwide search, led by the recruitment firm Museum Search & Reference. But as a private nonprofit, they are not required to follow a specific process to find a replacement.
Torrance, a native of Ohio, arrived with years of museum director experience. He had previously been executive director of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum in Wethersfield, and also led two other historic museums — the Bennington Museum in Vermont and, for nearly 20 years, the Woodlawn Museum, Gardens and Park in Ellsworth, Maine.
Torrance is leaving to assume the role of vice president of both the Fenimore Art Museum and Fenimore Farm and Country Village in Cooperstown, New York. He is expected to transition to the role of president and chief executive when Dr. Paul S. D’Ambrosio, who was his mentor, retires in 2026.
“Very unexpectedly, he called me this fall and said he was retiring and that he had always hoped that I would take over for him at those institutions,” Torrance said. “It’s probably literally the only place I would ever consider going. I really hoped and intended to end my career here.”
Torrance said he considered it an exceptional opportunity.
“To have a full circle moment and go back to where I started was too special and too sort of kismet to pass up,” Torrance said. “It just felt very heart-wrenching and heartbreaking as it was to leave here.”
During his years in charge, according to the museum, Torrance completed a market feasibility study, a master property plan, a new strategic plan and an institutional rebrand.
“This institution has such a strong, incredible legacy of growth, programming and service to its community. I just came in and continued in that tradition,” Joshua said. “It was a joy to be able to work with this incredible staff and just keep building on all the hard work that they had put into it.”
“Joshua’s being very modest,” said Steere. “One of the things that leaves with him is an enormous amount of museum knowledge and experience. There are very few people who are as thoroughly knowledgeable about what they do as he is about this particular business and industry.”