A Walk Through the American Wing

Book excerpt: The Metropolitan’s renowned American Wing is where the Museum’s unsurpassed collection of American fine and decorative art is on permanent public display, from masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and drawing to exquisite examples of the finest American furniture, silver, glass, ceramics, and textiles. This handsome volume presents an overview of the collection and provides an informative walk through the American Wing’s richly furnished period rooms and stunning architectural displays. These include the magnificent marble façade of the Branch Bank of the United States—the entrance to the original American Wing when it opened in 1924—and the restored living room of a Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style house. The comprehensive survey of paintings and sculpture begins with early colonial portraiture and from there follows the emergence and development of a national fine-arts tradition, including significant movements and genres such as the Hudson River School, neoclassical sculpture, and American Impressionism. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.