American Art Recommendations - For all ages

BOOKS for ADULTS

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Framing America : A Social History of American Art

by Frances K. Pohl
Thames & Hudson, 2002

This title offers a consistent presentation of the resonance between art and history; a coherent sense of the evolution of a new, generously defined conception of American art.

Gilbert Stuart

by Richard B. K. McLanathan
Smithsonian Institution, 1986

Known mostly for his portraiture, Gilbert Stuart is described in this book through personal letters and the foundations of previous research. This titles includes large photos of Stuart’s portraits and smaller pictures of remnants of Stuart’s life.

Images from the World Between : The Circus in 20th Century American Art

by Donna Gustafson
MIT Press, 2001

This title features the circus as a focal point of twentieth-century American art.

Nineteenth-Century American Art

by Barbara S Groseclose
Oxford University Press, 2000

This introduction examines the profession of the nineteenth-century American artist and audience reception of their work. Works of art by familiar names such as Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer are discussed.

On Modern American Art: Selected Essays

by Robert Rosenblum
Harry N. Abrams, 1999

Rosenblum describes American art through a collection of essays highlighting how painters such as Johns and Stella have evolved over time.

Painters of the Aschan School: The Immortal Eight

by Bennard B. Perlman
Dover Publications, 1988

This book chronicles the period beginning in the 1870’s and ending at the dawn of World war I in which a group of artists under the leadership of Robert Henri broke with the provincial and academic formulas.

The American Art Book

by Phaidon Press
1999

Covering three centuries, this vibrant, fresh overview ranges from Puritan portraits to the American Impressionists to the videos and digital works of today's most intriguing conceptual artists.

The American Century : Art & Culture, 1950-2000

by Lisa Phillips
Whitney Museum of American Art in association with W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.

This volume, covering the first half of the century, is a history of American art as well as a permanent record of the Whitney show. The art forms: film, dance, music, literature, photography, decorative arts, architecture, fashion, and industrial design are all included.

The American Eye: Eleven Artists of the twentieth century

by Jan Greenberg
Delacorte Press, 1995

The American Eye features biographies of 11 artists and full-color reproductions of over 50 artworks in one volume. Reference features include a glossary, a list of museums, a bibliography, and an index.

The Art of History: African American Women Artists Engage the Past

by Lisa Gail Collins
Rutgers University Press, 2002

In this title, Collins intends to show the intrinsic connections between images and objects and African American studies. She challenges the practice of disregarding visual art and artists in the field.

The Gilded Age : Ttreasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

by The National Museum of American Art and Elizabeth Prelinger
Watson-Guptill, 2000

This book contains more than fifty full-color reproductions including landscapes by Winslow Homer and seascapes by Albert Pinkham Ryder.

The Limners : America's Earliest Portrait Painters

by Leonard Everett Fisher
Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, 2000

Discusses the motivation, materials, and techniques of the first "artists" in colonial America--the sign painters--and how their works contribute to a better understanding of early American history and society.

The Walter O. Evans Collection of African American Art

by Andrea D Barnwell
University of Washington Press, 1999

Barnwell has compiled the Evans collection to focus on the art of historical significance of many individual objects, such as Florida and Etude in Blue.

Thomas Cole

by Matthew Baigell
Watson-Guptill, 1985

This title concentrates on Thomas Cole’s landscape portraits. It features small and large color and black and white photos of his works.

KIDS BOOKS

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A Drawing in the Sand

by Jerry Butler
Zino Press Children’s Books, 1998

Author and illustrator, Jerry Butler describes his development as an artist and his discovery of the long and beautiful tradition of African-American art that preceded him. (JB)

The Art of Romare Bearden

by Romare Bearden
National Gallery of Art ; In association with Harry N. Abrams, c2003

This title displays Bearden’s works as they represent the places where he lived and worked: the rural South; northern cities, principally Pittsburgh and New York's Harlem; and the Caribbean island of St. Martin.

The Pantheon Story of American Art for Young People

by Ariane Ruskin Batterberry
Pantheon Books, 1976

A history of art in the United States which includes the contributions of the Indians and early settlers and discusses art movements and important individual artists in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.

MULTIMEDIA

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New World Visions American Art and the Metropolitan Museum

by Home Vision
1983

Surveys American art from 1650-1914 using the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. [VHS]

WEBSITES

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PBS: American Roots Music
http://www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/

Travel back through the 20th century to explore the roots of American music… Blues, country, bluegrass, gospel, cajun and many more.

American Royal Arts: Animation Art
http://www.ara-animation.com

This site features animated collectibles, including many of your favorite cartoon characters.

The National Gallery of Art
http://www.nga.gov/education/american/aasplash.htm

This site includes a section titled, Exploring Themes in American Art. It features abstract, still life, portraiture, landscape and many other types. There is a foreign language option.

The Reynolda House Museum of American Art
http://www.reynoldahouse.org

This museum located in Winston-Salem, focuses on American fine art, costume and interior decoration. You will also find a history of the Reynolds Family and their historic home.

The Whitney Museum of American Art
http://www.whitney.org

This site offers an audio tour, American Voices that features the museums permanent collection. You can also browse recent acquisitions and featured artists.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://www.nmaa.si.edu

This website allows you to browse the museums digital collection of over 15,000 pieces by artist or category.