| Description |
1 online resource (xxi, 220 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Art as knowledge -- Exhibiting the evolution of culture -- Definig art for the nation in two national galleries -- Rejecting modern art for Washington, 1930s-1960s -- Opening a new era for art at the Smithsonian, 1960s-1980 -- Looking back to beginnings -- Pre-Smithsonian sources of the SAAM collection -- Museum titles -- Buildings of the Museum -- Proposed designs for buildings -- Directors of the Museum -- Smithsonian secretaries -- Smithsonian Board of Regents |
| Summary |
"Dedicated to the art of the United States, the Smithsonian American Art Museum contains works by more than 7,000 artists and is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for the study and preservation of the nation's cultural heritage. But as Lois Marie Fink shows in this probing narrative, the history of the museum is hardly one of steady progress. Instead, it reads like a nineteenth-century melodrama, replete with villains and heroes, destruction by fire, dashed hopes, and periods of subsistence survival - all leading eventually to a happy ending." "In recounting the history of the museum from 1846 to 1980, Fink unravels the various levels of institutional authority, power, governance, and bureaucracy and shows how people at each level influenced the fortunes of the collection. She also places changing concepts of art and museum practice in the context of national ideals and Washington realities."--Jacket |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-215) and index |
| Notes |
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL |
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English |
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digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL |
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Print version record |
| Subject |
Smithsonian American Art Museum -- History
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| SUBJECT |
Smithsonian American Art Museum fast |
| Subject |
HISTORY -- Social History.
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Kunstmusea.
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Smithsonian Institute.
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Washington (D.C.)
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| Genre/Form |
History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2007024293 |
| ISBN |
9781613760895 |
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1613760892 |
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