Great American Paintings

Great American Paintings

-

Our annual exhibition of paintings is often tied to a theme. Sometimes it is a specific period or group of artists. Sometimes it is about the history of art or art institutions. We do that to highlight elements of American art history that we believe deserve more attention. In the past we have focused on the contribution of American women artists, the seminal role played by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the emergence of American Modernism, to name just a few.

This year we have taken a different approach. We think of it as our “freestyle” exhibition. Other than being executed by Americans, this collection of paintings has only one shared characteristic: Quality. We chose each of the works in this exhibition based on the sole criterion of how much we loved the painting. Not the signature, not the history, not the region or the subject matter. In a way, this is a “Greatest Hits” show. When the time comes to send these paintings to new homes, we will do so with no small measure of regret.

––Richard Rossello, Principal