Connecting Collections: The Ancient Americas in American Museums

Summary

Museum collections resemble the tastes and character of the donors and curators that assembled them. This subjectivity lends them an idiosyncratic character. Nevertheless, the early network of dealers and donors connects many museums across the United States. Institutions like the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Denver Art Museum, for example, are linked through such relationships. This paper examines the history of such relationships and the manner in which collection histories may shed further light on the development of pre-Columbian art in the United States. Museums played an essential role in the popularizing of the Americas across the United States both through the growth of their collections and exhibitions. This paper will consider specifically the Denver Art Museum's (DAM) collection, and the role early directors and curators played in its development.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22256