Object Lessons in American Art: Selections from the Princeton University Art Museum
Saturday, Feb 04, 2023 — Sunday, May 14, 2023
“Object Lessons in American Art” features four centuries of works from the Princeton University Art Museum that collectively explore American history, culture and society. Inspired by the concept of the object lesson — the study of a material thing to communicate a larger idea — the exhibition brings groups of objects together to ask fundamental questions about artistic significance, materials and how meanings change across time and contexts. With a focus on race, gender and the environment, these pairings demonstrate the value of juxtaposing diverse objects to generate new understanding. “Object Lessons” presents Euro-American, Native American and African American art from contemporary interpretive perspectives, illustrating how fresh investigations art can inform and enhance its meaning, affording new insights into the American past and present.
An accompanying catalogue expands upon the exhibition through focused analyses that situate these important works within current social, cultural and artistic concerns and debates.
“Object Lessons in American Art” is organized by the Princeton University Art Museum.
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Minor White (American, 1908 – 1976), “Tom Murphy, San Francisco,” February 1948. Gelatin silver print, 12 × 9.8 centimeters (image). The Minor White Archive, Princeton University Art Museum, bequest of Minor White (x1980-1018) © Trustees of Princeton University.get_appDownload File -
Pueblo, Historic, ca. 1880, Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico, Rio Grande, United States, American southwest, large two-headed, four-armed effigy figurine. Ceramic with black and white slip; 63.5 x 39 x 21 centimeters. Lent by the Department of Geosciences, Princeton University (PU 7413). Photo Bruce M. White.get_appDownload File -
Mary Cassatt (1844 – 1926), “Little Girl in a Large Red Hat,” ca. 1881. Oil on canvas, 43.8 × 38.7 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund (2021-12).get_appDownload File -
John Singleton Copley (American, 1738 – 1815), “Elkanah Watson,” 1782. Oil on canvas, 149 × 121 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of the estate of Josephine Thomson Swann ( y1964-181).get_appDownload File -
Henry Inman (American, 1801 – 1846), “O-Chee-Na-Shink-Ka a,” 1832 – 33. Oil on canvas, 77.5 × 64.8 centimeters. Promised gift from a Private Collection, member of the Class of 1982.get_appDownload File -
Asher Brown Durand (American, 1796 – 1886), “Landscape,” 1859. Oil on canvas, 77 × 61.5 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of J.O. MacIntosh, Class of 1902 (y1955-3249).get_appDownload File -
Rande Cook (Kwakwaka’wakw, b. 1977, British Columbia, Canada), “Our Home,” 2018. Red cedar and acrylic, 121.9 × 76.2 × 5.1 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund (2019-23) © Rande Cook.get_appDownload File -
Marsden Hartley (American, 1877 – 1943), “Blue Landscape,” 1942. Oil on board, 40.6 × 50.8 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund and Kathleen Compton Sherrerd Fund for Acquisitions in American Art (2015-6679).get_appDownload File -
Renee Cox (b. 1960, Colgate, Jamaica; active New York, NY), “The Signing,” 2018, printed 2020. Inkjet print, 121.9 × 213.4 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Museum purchase, Kathleen Compton Sherrerd Fund for Acquisitions in American Art (2021-38) © Renee Cox.get_appDownload File -
Ammi Phillips (American, 1788 – 1865), “Boy in Red,” ca. 1832. Oil on canvas, 59.7 x 50.8 centimeters. Princeton University Art Museum. Gift of Edward Duff Balken, Class of 1897 (y1958-75). Photo Bruce M. White.get_appDownload File
Curator
Karl Kusserow, John Wilmerding Curator of American Art, Princeton University Art Museum (in-house curator: Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, curator of American art)
Sponsors
This exhibition is made possible by the leadership support of the Terra Foundation for American Art
Galleries
Philip Henry Alston Jr., Lamar Dodd, Boone and George-Ann Knox I, Rachel Cosby Conway, Alfred Heber Holbrook and Charles B. Presley Family Galleries
Press Releases
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Wed, Jan 18, 2023