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THE GARDENS WILL REOPEN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 AT 11 AM!

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American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection

America is a nation of stories.

Everyone has a story to tell—a life lived as a witness to and participant in events both private and shared. The stories that we tell as individuals are single strands in a grander narrative. Together, they build a consensus around the principles of a nation, maintaining a delicate balance between the one and the many, and the fulfillment of self and being better citizens. The exhibition captures the power of storytelling through artworks that express the dualities of artist and subject to reveal a simple truth: As much as we like to mythologize, America is not monolithic; the ideal and the reality diverge.

The artists in this exhibition have led vastly different lives, but they are all united as Americans. In this era of unremitting uniformity and conventionalizing through mass means of commercialization, communication, transportation, technology, and media, it is the very diversity of experience, heritage, perspective, and place that revitalizes, renews, and strengthens. Democracy’s promise is to welcome and direct that diversity toward an implicit and collective understanding of “the way things are.”

That is America.

This exhibition has been organized by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, with support provided by Art Bridges.

Originally curated for installation at the American Folk Art Museum, February 11, 2020 – January 3, 2021, by Stacy C. Hollander, Independent Curator. Tour coordinated by Emelie Gevalt, Curator of Folk Art, the American Folk Art Museum.

On Display
Friday, February 11, 2022 to Sunday, May 22, 2022
Image Caption
Felipe Benito Archuleta (1910–1991), Tiger, Tesuque, New Mexico, 1977, Paint and gesso on cottonwood with straw, 32 1/2 x 71 x 17 in., American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of George H. Meyer, 2000.17.1, Photo by Paul Primeau
Image Caption
Daniel Steele (American, Eastern United States, dates unknown), Tunebook, 1821, watercolor and ink on paper, 5 x 8 1/2 in. (closed), Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Museum purchase with partial funds provided by Becky and Bob Alexander, Lucy and Mike Danziger, Jane and Gerald Katcher, Donna and Marvin Schwartz, Kristy and Steve Scott, and an anonymous donor, 2014.1.1, Photo by Gavin Ashworth.
Image Caption
John Rasmussen (American, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1828-1895), John Van Reed Evans Homestead and Farmscape, c. 1879–1886, oil on zinc-plated tin, 26 3/8 x 35 3/8 in., Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of Ralph Esmerian, 2005.8.15, Photo ©2000 John Bigelow Taylor.a

Made Possible By

Exhibition Season Presenter
    • City of Jacksonville
    • Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville
    • Lory Doolittle
    • Ronald and Karen Rettner
Exhibition Lead Sponsor
    • State of Florida
    • The Robert D. Davis Family Endowment
    • The Schultz Family Endowment
Exhibition Sponsor
    • Director’s Circle Donors at the Cummer Museum
    • The Winston Family Foundation
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 11AM - 9PM
Wednesday 11AM - 4PM
Thursday 11AM - 4PM
Friday 11AM - 9PM
Saturday 11AM - 4PM
Sunday NOON - 4PM
Members Free
Adults $20
Children (Ages 5 & under) Free
Students (Ages 6 - 17) $15
Seniors* (Age 62+) $15
Military* $15
Educators* $15
College Students* Free Tue - Fr
$15 Sat & Sun
*Current I.D. required