Young America

Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Alvan Fisher,
The Great Horseshoe Fall, Niagara,
1820,
oil,
34 3/8 x 48 1/8 in.,
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Young America presents fifty-four major paintings and sculptures that trace the transformation of the American colonies into nationhood. These rare artworks from the 1760s through the 1870s reveal the growing self-awareness and optimism of a 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.

Young America is one of eight exhibitions in Treasures to Go, from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, touring the nation through 2002. The Principal Financial Group is a proud partner in bringing these treasures to the American people. Young America's showing at the Ackland is generously supported by the Ackland Art Museum Guild, the Frey American Art Fund and the William Hayes Ackland Trust.

"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 lavishly illustrated gift book, Young America: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retailing for $19.95, the book features more than sixty color illustrations and is available for purchase at the Museum.

A special public reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday, December 20, 2001 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Ackland Director Jerry Bolas will hold a gallery talk on Wednesday, January 16, 2002 at 12:15 p.m. Additional programs can be seen on the Ackland Calendar. All events are free and open to the public.