Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century

This catalog accompanied an exhibition presenting approximately 150 works surveying the last five centuries of European and American art. The exhibition celebrated the breadth and depth of the Gallery’s collecting and showed a selection of the paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and photographs acquired since its 50th anniversary exhibition in 1991.

Marking the beginning of a new century, this catalog celebrates the strength of the Gallery’s permanent collection and includes approximately two percent of the Gallery’s acquisitions obtained during the last decade of the 20th century. Selections were made based primarily on rarity, art-historical significance, and quality. The catalog underscores the character, breadth, interest, and—most importantly—the quality of these acquisitions, and epitomizes the standards of excellence on which the nation’s collection is built.