American Art

A tour through the Yale University Art Gallery's holdings of American art, one of the most exceptional museum collections of its kind.This volume presents an engaging selection of highlights and introduces readers to the richness and diversity of the Yale University Art Gallery's holdings of American art. An introductory essay outlines pivotal moments in the three-hundred-year history of collecting, exhibiting, and teaching with American art at Yale and commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Friends of American Arts at Yale, whose support continues to ensure the excellence of the collection. The more than one hundred object entries that follow create a narrative that charts the multiplicity of experiences and accomplishments of artists and artisans living and working in North America – from the earliest days of European settlement to the present. Among the catalogued objects are works by some of the best-known names in American art as well as recent acquisitions and masterpieces that represent diverse American identities. A dazzling range of media is displayed, including paintings and sculpture, medals, prints and drawings, photographs, jewelry, furniture, and decorative arts. Each object is illustrated with a full-page image and is accompanied by a one-page discussion that focuses on its contribution to the history of American art.