Tastemakers, Collectors, and Patrons

Tastemakers, Collectors, and Patrons explores the dynamic landscape of American art collecting in the United States from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. The geographical range of collecting histories presented in this publication spans the Eastern Seaboard to the Old South, the Midwest, and the West Coast.

In this volume, the contributing scholars investigate individual collectors and collectives whose missions to create regional and national collecting communities in the United States encouraged civic philanthropy in the fine arts. Key themes—including the creation of an “American” school distinct from, yet rooted in, European tradition and the trials of forming publicly supported museums—reverberate throughout the publication. Essays examine early patrons, collectors, and museum founders; the impact of sectionalism, the Civil War, and reform on American collecting efforts; and the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of artists, collectors, and dealers at the turn of the century and beyond. Each section foregrounds different issues, underscoring the complexity of the historical, cultural, and political environments in which collections of American art were formed. As a whole, the volume traces the evolving taste and market for American art in the United States.

This is the final volume in our Pennsylvania State University Press series The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America.

Editors: Linda S. Ferber, Margaret R. Laster, and Samantha Deutch (series editor)

Authors: Lynne D. Ambrosini, Sarah Cash, Julie McGinnis Flanagan, Ilene Susan Fort, Barbara Dayer Gallati, Lance Humphries, Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, Sophie Lynford, Kimberly Orcutt, and Richard Saunders

Publisher: Penn State University Press with The Frick Collection

Hardcover, 8 x 10 in., 240 pages, 72 color and 26 black and white illustrations

ISBN: 9780271095240