Book Description
Even before the American Revolution, the artists and craftsmen of our young country were forging a distinguished American identity through beautiful examples of fine and decorative arts. Many of the finest examples of the work created during the earliest years of the country's history--from 1730 to 1840--were collected by the U.S. Department of State to decorate the reception rooms where important statesmen and diplomats are greeted. Highlights from this prestigious collection of American art and craft will tour in a nationwide exhibition for the first time.
Becoming a Nation features more than 100 objects from the exhibition, each accompanied by detailed essays. The book includes paintings by such notable American masters as John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and Fitz Hugh Lane; exceptional works of silver by Paul Revere and Myer Myers; and exquisite baroque, rococo, and neoclasssical furntiure crafted in Portsmouth, Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and New York. A definitive study, Becoming a Nation recommends itself to experts and amateurs alike.
About the Author
Jonathan Fairbanks is a respected curator and scholar of American fine and decorative arts. For nearly thirty years, he was chief curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Becoming a Nation: Americana from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms U.S. Department of State FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Often objects can provide a better window into history than words alone. In Becoming a Nation, American works of art and cultural artifacts are combined with intriguing texts to provide the reader with a unique perspective on the attitudes and values of the generations that spawned the United States. The exceptional objects presented in this volume were all made or used in the country during its formative years, from about 1730 to 1840 - the decades preceding and following the American Revolution in which the country coalesced from a group of disparate colonies into a new nation, then expanded westward across the continent." All of the works in Becoming a Nation are drawn from the extraordinary collection of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C. This collection was brilliantly assembled in order to provide the Department of State - and the nation as a whole - with beautiful and suitable surroundings for the benefit of American statesmanship; no other collection in this nation has been created with such a singular mandate. Thus the works of art carefully selected for this exhibition and catalogue not only reflect great beauty and craftsmanship but are also important historical documents that shed light on American history and the growth of our prosperous nation.
Art & Photography
Book Info
