National Academy Museum
1083 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10128
U.S.A.
Tel: (212) 369-4880
http://www.nationalacademy.org/

Visitors to the National Academy Museum find it one of New York City's special treasures. The Academy is an honorary association of professional artists, that maintains a museum and an art school. A requirement of membership, which is by election only, is the contribution of a representative example of each artist's work. Since its founding in 1825, the Academy has amassed a rich collection of American paintings, sculpture, prints, and architectural representations forming a permanent collection of over 7000 works of nineteenth- through twenty-first century art. The museum presents exhibitions from its permanent collection as well as organizing major exhibitions, such as Surrealism USA, which traveled to the Phoenix Art Museum. Located in a beautiful Beaux-Arts townhouse on Fifth Avenue, the National Academy is one of the eight museums that comprise Museum Mile.
 

Asher B. Durand (1796-1886), Dean of American Landscape

July 5 - December 30, 2007

Next summer and fall, American master Asher B. Durand (1796-1886) will be the subject of a focus exhibition at the National Academy Museum that will highlight his accomplishments over the course of an epic career that spanned the nineteenth century. As a leader of the American art world and second president of the National Academy of Design (1845-1861), Durand is among the most celebrated figures in the American artistic pantheon. His insightful visions of the American landscape and influential writings on art established his reputation as the "dean" of the Hudson River School painters. His art and advocacy helped bring new and international recognition to American art during the 1840s and 1850s.

Asher B. Durand, PNA will be one of three exhibitions in New York City next year and will highlight Durand’s varied accomplishments as a draftsman, engraver, portraitist, landscapist, and President of the National Academy (PNA). As part of this long overdue revival and reassessment of Durand’s significance, the exhibition will feature his public and professional roles both as an artist and a leading spokesman for art in America. Asher B. Durand, PNA will be on view at the Museum July 5 - December 30, 2007. It will coincide with the Durand exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the New York Historical Society. It will coincide with the Durand exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the New York Historical Society.