Opening Reception

Friday, January 10th, 5-7pm

American Paintings from the Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection, 1850–1940

This significant collection of American paintings, drawn from a turbulent epoch, presents a fascinating historical snapshot. We have the opportunity to see these works afresh, through a contemporary lens, and experience the benefit of current contexts. If art is a mirror of its time, what do these forty paintings say about the ninety-years between 1850 and 1940? What is portrayed, what unseen?

By 1850, American painting had established itself as distinctive from its old-world roots. To look at these paintings is to see privileged people of primarily European descent. We see traditional genres informed by the European Old Masters, painted with an American idiom: scenic landscapes, domestic scenes, still lifes – traditional themes preferred by collectors.

This group of paintings offers a picturesque view of a complex moment in American history. Largely absent is the presence of working people and people of color: the men, women, and children that powered the expanding American industrial complex. Also, not portrayed, the most tumultuous events of the period: The Civil War, emancipation, Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow era.

At this decisive learning moment, we must ask: why did some painters wish to ignore such momentous events and the people most impacted by them? As society struggles with these issues so must the 21st century museum. 

Thinking about these difficult topics helps us focus our attention on historical accuracy, how we record it, and the manner in which we represent the truth of the constituencies of our own diverse communities that comprise 21st century America. 

American Paintings from the Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection, 1850–1940 is organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts and made possible by the Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection. This is one in a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Detroit Institute of Arts as part of the Art Bridges + Terra Foundation Initiative. Generous support is provided by the Richard and Jane Manoogian Foundation.

In the Press

The Oakland Post
January 13, 2020
The Oakland University Art Gallery is showcasing the “American Paintings” exhibition from the Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection in a partnership with the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). According to the gallery’s website, the exhibition contains 40 paintings from 1850-1950 and allows visitors to get a “fascinating historical snapshot.”
Detroit Art Review
January 12, 2020
Opening January 10th, 2020, at the Oakland University Art Gallery is a traveling exhibition from the Nancy and Sean Cotton collection of American painting that captures an impression of what kind of realism was prominent in the United States, drawn from European roots and expressed in traditional in oil painting. The exhibition is sectioned off in categories: Landscape, Seascape, Cityscape, Portraiture, Still Life and Family life. Influences such as the Hudson River school or the Ashcan school of art during the late 19th or early 20th century are apparent, while also reflect influence of some of the lesser-known artists of this period. All are beautifully executed with attention to composition, light and facility.
Detroit Metro Times
January 9, 2020
American Paintings from Nancy and Sean Cotton Collection is a partnership with the Detroit Institute of Arts that exhibits 40 paintings made during a period that includes the Civil War, World War I, and the outset of World War II. The collection, "drawn from a turbulent epoch, presents a fascinating historical snapshot," according to organizers. "If art is a mirror of its time, what do these 40 paintings say about the 90 years between 1850 and 1940?" Notable works include paintings by Seymour Joseph Guy, Carl Hirschberg, and Thomas Moran, among others.