AIHA Presents Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

 YOUNG AMERICA Celebrates the Dawn of the Nation

The third traveling exhibition at the Albany Institute of History & Art since its grand re-opening after an $18 million renovation will be a major exhibition of artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  YOUNG AMERICA: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum presents more than 50 major paintings and sculptures that trace the transformation of the colonies into nationhood. On view from March 16 through May 19, these rare artworks from the 1760s through the 1870s reveal the growing self-awareness and optimism of the new nation. The artworks reflect life in New England and the mid-Atlantic regions, where British influence was strong in early decades, then rivaled in art by Italian neoclassic styles.   Works from George Catlin, Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, John Singleton Copley, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Asher B. Durand, Sanford Robinson Gifford, Harriet Hosmer, Erastus Dow Palmer, Charles Willson Peale, Hiram Powers, Lilly Martin Spencer, Gilbert Stuart and Benjamin West are part of this exhibition.

“I cannot think of a more perfect exhibition to be featuring at this time when we all are celebrating the roots of American culture and life with new vigor and appreciation,” said Christine M. Miles, director.  “In addition to featuring a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century artists rarely seen in upstate museums, YOUNG AMERICA includes a number of pieces by artists in the Institute's own collection, providing an opportunity to both gain new perspectives and appreciation of what we have right here in Albany.”

YOUNG AMERICA is made up of portraits, still lifes, landscapes and everyday scenes of rural life that celebrate a deep understanding of the new nation's fight for independence.  Early colonial and Federal portraits of prosperous merchants and statesmen show both an eagerness for refinement and a no-nonsense directness---traits considered "distinctly American." Landscapes featuring panoramic views and epic narratives express the pride Americans felt in the continent's breathtaking natural wonders. Engaging scenes of daily life and bountiful still lifes, which appealed to a rising middle-class taste for decorative display, echo the country's sense of a promising future. Views of Italy are reminders of the historical and aesthetic appreciation that America's artists had for European achievements, while lofty marble sculptures express the link between democratic principles and the neoclassical revival.

“These portraits, still lifes, landscapes and scenes of daily life show the artists’ ambition to equal the best European art, but they also reveal developments within this country,” said Elizabeth Broun, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “They help us understand how a British colony became an independent nation, how wilderness lands were both cherished and developed and how a rural democracy responded to the industrial revolution.”

To accompany the exhibition, the Smithsonian American Art Museum published a catalog that features more than 60 color illustrations and brief discussions of the individual art treasures in the exhibition and will be available in AIHA’s Museum Shop through the run of the exhibition.

YOUNG AMERICA is one of eight exhibitions in “Treasures to Go,” touring the nation through 2002.  The Principal Financial Group® is a proud partner in presenting these treasures to the American people.  Presentation of Young America at the Albany Institute has been made possible with the support of Matthew Bender IV, Alan P. Goldberg and William F.  McLaughlin.