American Masters from Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection

May 9, 2004-February 6, 2005 (extended from January 30)

Overview: 51 works by 26 American artists from the collection of John Wilmerding were presented in this exhibition, which included landscapes, marine paintings, portraits, still lifes, and figure paintings. Among the artists whose work was represented were George Caleb Bingham, Thomas Eakins, William Stanley Haseltine, Fitz Hugh Lane, John Marin, John Frederick Peto, and William Trost Richards. Drawings and watercolors by Frederic Edwin Church and other artists depicted Mount Desert Island, Maine, from the 1840s to the early twentieth century. In conjunction with the exhibition, Wilmerding announced that all of the works would remain at the National Gallery of Art and that George Caleb Bingham’s Mississippi Boatman would be an immediate gift.

On October10, 2004 Wilmerding and exhibition curator Franklin Kelly were joined by other experts in American art for a public discussion about the development of American art scholarship and collections.

The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Franklin Kelly, senior curator of American and British paintings at the National Gallery, was curator.

Attendance: 177,897(273 days)

Location: East Building, Mezzanine, Northwest

Catalogue: American Masters from Bingham to Eakins: The John Wilmerding Collection, by Franklin Kelly et al. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; in association with Lund Humphries, 2004.

Web site: A feature included selected images, materials developed from the exhibition catalogue, wall texts, and object labels, as well as biographical information on John Wilmerding. A selection of works could be viewed in detail by enlarging highlighted areas. Related Online Resources

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