Past Exhibition

The European Vision of America

This is a painting of a scene depicting a landscape with ships, figures, and a floral border. The figures are dressed in elaborate costumes and surrounded by exotic animals and terrestrial features. They interact with each other and objects like baskets of fruits, suggesting a theme related to exploration or the exotic. The painting is rich in color and detail, emphasizing textiles and floral motifs, resembling Baroque art.
Lodewijck van Schoor, Pieter Spierincx, Brussels 17th Century, America, c. 1675/1699, tapestry: undyed wool warp, dyed wool and silk weft, Gift of Lewis Einstein, 1950.6.1

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    Ground Floor, Central Gallery, Galleries G-1 through G-7, G-9, G-10, G-12, G-13, G-14, G-15, G-19, Space 33 (15,000 sq. ft.)
This is a painting of a scene depicting a landscape with ships, figures, and a floral border. The figures are dressed in elaborate costumes and surrounded by exotic animals and terrestrial features. They interact with each other and objects like baskets of fruits, suggesting a theme related to exploration or the exotic. The painting is rich in color and detail, emphasizing textiles and floral motifs, resembling Baroque art.
Lodewijck van Schoor, Pieter Spierincx, Brussels 17th Century, America, c. 1675/1699, tapestry: undyed wool warp, dyed wool and silk weft, Gift of Lewis Einstein, 1950.6.1

Overview: 339 catalogued works included paintings, tapestries, pieces of furniture, small sculpture, engravings, porcelains, maps, and silver and gold works depicting the European view of American life, from the discovery of America to the Statue of Liberty. The exhibition honored the 1976 American Bicentennial. The works were installed thematically, in all exhibition areas on the West Building ground floor. Entrance was from the Seventh Street lobby.

Organization: The show was organized by William S. Talbot of the Cleveland Museum of Art and Irène Bizot of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux de France in Paris, with guest curator Hugh Honour, British writer and art historian. Gaillard Ravenel, George Sexton, Mark Leithauser, and Hugh Honour designed the exhibition for the National Gallery.

Book: The New Golden Land: The European Vision of America from the Discoveries to the Present Time, by Hugh Honour. New York: Pantheon Books, 1975.

Attendance: 100,809

Catalog: The European Vision of America, by Hugh Honour. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.

Brochure: The European Vision of America, Notes on the Exhibition, by Helen O. Borowitz. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975.

Other Venues:

  • Cleveland Museum of Art, 04/28/1976–08/08/1976
  • Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 09/17/1976–01/03/1977

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