Founded in 1919 by Joseph G. Butler, Jr., The Butler Institute of American Art is the first museum of American art. The original structure is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic places. Known worldwide as “America’s Museum”, the museum’s collection totals over 20,000 pieces in all media, and spans four centuries of work.
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EXHIBITIONS
Pastel Society of America: 47th Annual Exhibition
December 22, 2019 – February 23, 2020
This exhibition, drawn from The Pastel Society of America’s annual fall exhibition, features works by some of the nation’s premier pastel painters. The Pastel Society of America (PSA) is the oldest organization of its kind in the nation. A primary mandate of the PSA is to provide a forum for the exhibition of works by the most accomplished pastel artists in the United States and abroad. Since 1972, the PSA Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance!, held at the National Arts club in New York City, has been the premier event for pastel artists worldwide. Each year, the Butler shows selected works from the annual PSA show in the museum’s Giffuni Pastel Gallery. Learn more
In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870-1940
January 19 – April 12, 2020
Opening Reception: January 19, 1-3pm
In A New Light: American Impression 1870 – 1940 explores both the dissemination of Impressionism from its French roots into the American idiom and its reinterpretation of American landscape painting. Drawn from the Bank of America Collection, the works in the exhibition, by a diverse group of more than 75 artists, trace not only the development of Impressionism in the United States but also the emergence of a truly American style of painting. This exhibition has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities program. Learn more
Steranko and the American Superhero
May 3 – July 5, 2020
Meet the Artist: To be announced at a later date
The Butler Institute of American Art is proud to announce the Premiere Exhibition of 60 select paintings visualizing the most popular and prominent heroes dominating the current international entertainment scene. Across all mediums, from the cinema to comics, STERANKO was cited by Stan Lee as one of the prime architects of the Marvel Universe; the co-creator of NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.; and the artist-writer of CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE HULK, SUPERMAN, and THE X-MEN (for which he designed the classic title logo). He generated more than 150 original storytelling devices and techniques that changed the direction of the comics’ medium, and evolved a devoted cult of followers who nicknamed him The Innovator. Learn more
Dorothy Churchill-Johnson
May 3 – June 14, 2020
Meet the Artist: May 3, 1-3pm
Exhibition details to follow at a later time. Learn more