THE AMERICAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE COLLECTION

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THE AMERICAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE. COLLECTION. In the context of an international collection, SAM’s American art collection, a relatively new …

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THE AMERICAN PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE
COLLECTION
In the context of an international collection, SAM’s American art collection, a relatively new
area of focus, contributes to a larger understanding of how cultural exchange has shaped our
national identity. On view are outstanding examples by the country’s leading 19th century
landscape painters: Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church, Sanford Gifford and John
Frederick Kensett. The collection has grown to include important works by artists at the turn
of the century, including John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and John La Farge. Paintings
and sculpture of the early 20th century are an especially strong part of the collection-in
addition to a core group of works by Northwest artists, the museum has key works by Georgia
O’Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove, and John Covert as well as extensive bodies of
work by Mark Tobey and Morris Graves.
When the Seattle Art Museum opened in 1933, founding director Richard Fuller indicted his
desire to build a collection that fostered a dialogue between art of the past and artists of the
present. To that end he developed an ambitious exhibition and acquisition program to
showcase contemporary regional art. He was especially supportive of artists Morris…