American Art to 1900 ─ A Documentary History

"This book is a breathtaking accomplishment. The rich and comprehensive collection of writings gathered by the editors reflects the expansive definition of American art history in the twenty-first century. Texts by canonical artists and critics are here, giving access to the texture of the aesthetic discussions of their historical moments. So are reflections by writers on the margins of the mainstream art world, including slaves, women and commercial artists, showing that they were equally interested in art and its relationship to society."--Elizabeth Hutchinson, author of The Indian Craze: Primitivism, Modernism, and Transculturation in American Art, 1890-1915

"This eagerly anticipated compilation of historical subjects and sources will resonate for a diversity of scholars in the academy and the museum. Refreshingly inclusive, these judiciously selected documents prove the editors' assertion that words count by investing objects with layers of meaning and relevance. An indispensable volume for all interpreters of American art and culture."--Sylvia Yount, Louise B. and J. Harwood Cochrane Curator of American Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

"What a splendid compilation Sarah Burns and John Davis have given us. Documents of all sorts--culled from private diaries and popular periodicals, sermons and lectures, criticism and bureaucratic records--give voice to those involved in the world of American art from the 17th through the 19th century. The editors' selections are canny, as are their terse introductions. Students and scholars alike will find here material to prompt new insights on the complex interaction of art, its verbal context, and the writing of history."--Marc Simpson, Associate Director, Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art

"American Art to 1900: A Documentary History offers a very welcome addition to the primary source literature in United States art history. The broad chronological scope, which draws much-needed attention to the colonial and early national periods, and the range of artistic media covered makes this volume suitable for advanced scholarship as well as classroom use."--Wendy Bellion, University of Delaware

Sarah Burns is Ruth N. Halls Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University. She is the author of Painting the Dark Side: Art and the Gothic Imagination in Nineteenth-Century America (UC Press), Inventing the Modern Artist: Art and Culture in Gilded Age America, and Pastoral Inventions: Rural Life in Nineteenth-Century American Art and Culture. John Davis is Alice Pratt Brown Professor of Art at Smith College. He is the author of The Landscape of Belief: Encountering the Holy Land in Nineteenth-Century American Art and Culture.