The Addison Gallery, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, is free and open to the public.
Our Mission
Home to a world-class collection of American art, the Addison Gallery, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, presents an adventurous exhibition program, hosts a vital artist-in-residence program, and works collaboratively with students and faculty at the Academy and in neighboring communities. Through our ongoing query What is America?, the Addison seeks to engage with the history of American art and American experience—past, present, and future.
About Our Collection
Comprised of more than 25,000 works in all media—painting, sculpture, photography, drawings, prints, and decorative arts—from the 18th century to the present, the Addison Gallery’s collection of American art is one of the most important in the world.
The museum’s founding collection included major works by such prominent American artists as John Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Maurice Prendergast, John Singer Sargent, John Twachtman, and James McNeill Whistler.
In the nine decades since, aggressive purchasing and generous gifts have added works by such artists as Mark Bradford, Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Marsden Hartley, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Kerry James Marshall, Eadweard Muybridge, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Charles Sheeler, Lorna Simpson, John Sloan, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Frank Stella, Kara Walker, and Stanley Whitney.
Students, faculty, and staff stopped by the @phillipsacademynest at OWHL to meet artist Alison Elizabeth Taylor earlier this afternoon for a drop in materials exploration session! Participants created their own wood grain cut paper collages inspired by Taylor’s exhibition currently on view at the Addison. Scroll through to see the some of the incredible pieces made by @phillipsacademy students and Addison staffers.
🦊: Aydin ‘25 (@aydinhirschman)
🦅: Sonia ‘24
🍔: Leo ‘24
⛏️: Pierre ‘23
Abstraction #1: Allison Kemmerer
Abstraction #2: Gordon Wilkins
⭐️: Angela Parker
#alisonelizabethtaylor #artistinresidence #teachingmuseum #contactpaper #collage #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart @alisonelizabethtaylor
Looking for a fun Sunday activity? Look no further! Don’t miss your chance to see Alison Elizabeth Taylor speak right here at the Addison tomorrow (Sunday, May 21st at 2:00). While the in-person talk is sold out (you can join the waitlist by visiting our website) there are plenty of virtual spots available. To watch Alison’s talk live on Zoom head to the link in our bio to register for free!
See you in person and virtually tomorrow!
Also, don’t miss Alison Elizabeth Taylor: The Sum of It—on view now through July 31st at the Addison!
Alison Elizabeth Taylor, The Kitchen, 2014. Marquetry hybrid: wood veneer, oil, acrylic, and shellac, 92 x 116 inches. Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, purchased with funds given in memory of Larry Thompson by his children and grandchildren, 2014.22, Wolfe Gallery Photo credit: Courtesy Alison Elizabeth Taylor and James Cohan Gallery, NY/ @toledomuseum
#alisonelizabethtaylor #alisonelizabethtaylorthesumofit #marquetry #hybridmarquetry #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Happy International Museum Day!
In honor of this auspicious occasion, we thought we’d give you a behind the scenes glimpse into how exhibitions are organized by Addison curators. We’re going to show you how the curatorial sausage gets made, so to speak. With a collection of 25,000 objects at our disposal, we often find ourselves in the both enviable and unenviable position of having too much good stuff to chose from and not enough space to show it all. Curators have to make sometimes agonizing decisions to cut certain objects due to spatial constraints or shifting curatorial strategies.
Today was spent culling and “finalizing” (a checklist is never final until the last picture is on the wall) checklists for two upcoming permanent collection installations opening this September—Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context and Sea Change. We apologize for the excessive paper usage (please don’t @ me) but sometimes you just have to do it the old fashioned way and spread all the objects on your checklist out on the floor in order to mix things up! Objects are divided into broader thematic piles and then placed into specific pairings or small grouping while some objects fall by the wayside entirely. These single object printouts are kept together and any changes to the checklist are entered into our collections database. Later on, these pages come in handy when we’re ready to lay out the exhibition in empty galleries and are often taped to the wall to indicate to preparators where specific work is meant to be placed. This is a very antiquated way to curate but, you know what, if it ain’t broke…
🌈 The more you know!
…and I just found out that the theme of this year’s International Museum Day is sustainability so I probably shouldn’t be showing piles of paper. Oops. Honest mistake.
#curators #curator #curating #behindthescenes #museum #luddite #paper #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart #internationalmuseumday
Ellsworth Kelly Centennial 2023! 🔴🔵🟡🟢
Thank you so much to @jack.shear and the entire team at the @ellsworthkellystudio for inviting the Addison curatorial crew to today’s spectacular Ellsworth Kelly Centennial Celebration held at the late artist’s studio in Spencertown, New York. We were honored to be among such a distinguished group of museum directors and curators drawn together from afar through a shared admiration for Kelly’s work and his indelible legacy.
We would be remiss not to thank the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation for their incredible generosity and support over the years. From supporting important conservation work (notably the complex conservation of Donald Judd’s To Susan Buckwalter, 1964) to their recent unrestricted gift of $50,000, we are forever grateful. Thank you!
#ellsworthkelly #ellsworthkelly100 #ek100 #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
The Addison is profoundly saddened to note the passing of our dear friend, the artist James “Jim” Tellin. Jim passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Jim and his longtime partner, John O’Reilly, were incredibly generous supporters of the Addison Gallery of American Art and entrusted the museum with the responsibility of stewarding a vast archive of over 3,500 works by O’Reilly along with gifts of work by other artists collected by the couple during their six decade long relationship. Tellin was also a brilliant artist in his own right and the Addison is honored to have a number of examples of Jim’s imaginative and striking sculptural works, including the artist’s final work—a posthumous portrait of John O’Reilly (slide 2).
We invite you to share remembrances below.
Works by both artists will appear in Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context here at the Addison from September 1, 2023 through February 11, 2024.
1) John O’Reilly (1930-2021). Jim, 1962-63. Watercolor on paper. Gift of John O’Reilly and James Tellin, 2017.39.461
2) James Tellin (1930-2023). A Portrait of John O’Reilly, 2022. Oil on board with wood instrument. Gift of James Tellin, 2023.105.50
#jimtellin #jamestellin #johnoreilly
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there! We love you!
Roy DeCarava (1919-2009). Sherry, Susan, Wendy, and Laura, 1983. Gelatin silver print. 13 x 10 1/6 inches. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, museum purchase, 1990.63/© Estate of Roy DeCarava
#mothersday #roydecarava #blacklove #blackartist #americanart #whatisamerica #blackphotographers #mothersanddaughters #addisongalleryofamericanart
Instead of celebrating “National Report Government Contractor Fraud Day” like every other museum on Instagram, we thought you might enjoy some fantastical springtime vistas care of the inimitable John O’Reilly.
All works by John O’Reilly (1930-2021):
Parakeet and Tulips, 1976. Paper montage. 8 15/16 x 6 5/8 inches. Gift of James Tellin, 2021.122.45
Gate, 1983. Paper montage. 9 5/8 x 8 3/4 inches. Gift of John O’Reilly and James Tellin, 2017.39.697
Untitled, 1979. Paper montage. 12 x 7 1/8 inches. Gift of James Tellin, 2021.122.74
Terrace at Aix, 1982. Paper montage. 10 5/16 x 10 1/8 inches. Gift of John O’Reilly and James Tellin, 2017.39.675
Chaise, 1983. Paper montage. 8 1/2 x 8 inches. Gift of John O’Reilly and James Tellin, 2017.39.706
#johnoreilly #montage #papermontage #collage #foundphoto #queerartist #queerart #photomontage #lgbtqartist #massachusettsartist #americanart #parakeet #aix #cezanne #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Wondering what’s coming up this fall at the Addison? We’ll reveal our exciting roster of exhibitions over the coming weeks, starting today with Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context (September 1, 2023–February 11, 2024).
The Addison’s permanent collection has grown exponentially since the museum opened its doors in 1931. The founding collection, comprised of some 400 works including masterpieces by Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and James McNeill Whistler, reflects the art world of the time and the taste and aesthetic sensibility of the collectors who helped shape it. In the ensuing decades and continuing to the present day, the Addison has aggressively yet thoughtfully acquired works of art for the collection to both build on its strengths and address its gaps and omissions. By no means complete or comprehensive, the 25,000 objects now in the collection allow the museum to convey a more expansive and nuanced picture of the American experience from the 18th century to today. Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context demonstrates how recently acquired works complement the Addison’s extant holdings and help us to see the collection in novel ways, drawing out new narratives, juxtapositions, and conversations across time and media.
Occupying the entirety of the Addison’s second level, each gallery will be anchored by one or more recent acquisitions, situated in thematic conversation with works that have previously entered the Addison’s collection throughout its nearly 100-year history. These dialogues center around particular strengths of the Addison’s renowned holdings—images of the American West, street photography, queer modernism, Bauhaus artists in America, and Minimalist art—or themes that surface across time periods and stylistic movements, including the body and nature, classical mythology, domestic interiors, and the depiction of light. Taken together, this constellation of installations offers new ways of looking at a collection that is endlessly generative and constantly reinterpreted.
Learn more about this and other upcoming exhibitions on our website!
#freeassociation #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
May the 4th be with you! Happy Star Wars Day (and we’re not referring to the Reagan era missile defense system)!
Everyday is Star Wars Day for James (“Jim”) Sousa, the Addison’s Director of Registration and Administration. Our resident Star Wars fanatic’s otherwise spartan office (at least compared to the Collyer Brothers-adjacent midden I occupy next door) is enlivened by Star Wars paraphernalia. Enjoy these snaps of Star Wars legos, a Death Star mousepad, and more!
Jim’s favorite Star Wars film? Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope! Favorite character? R2D2 (editor’s note: C-3PO is essentially the registrar of Star Wars so this answer surprised me).
Jim would also like me to let you all know that Han shot first. Don’t @ me.
He also (along with his son) created a fantastic Addison/Star Wars no jument art with Legos (see story).
#starwars #maythe4thbewithyou #maythe4th #maytheforcebewithyou #starwarslego #skywalker #hansolo #hanshotfirst #georgelucas #museumworkers #registrar #registrarlife #museumoffice #officeinteriors #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Whether you’re dancing on your own or with somebody (perhaps your creepy Shining twin), whether you’re a private dancer or dancing in the street, we wish you a very happy #InternationalDanceDay!
💃 George Luks (1867-1933). The Spielers, 1905. Oil on canvas. Gift of anonymous donor, 1931.9
🕺 Roy DeCarava (1919-2009). Dancers, New York, 1953. Gelatin silver print. Museum purchase, 1985.85
💃 George Platt Lynes (1907-1955). Nicholas Magallanes and Maria Tallchief in Orpheus, 1948. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Patrick Reilly and Barbara Timken in memory of Dean De Blasis, 1998.140
🕺 Gayleen Aiken (1934-2005). “Cousins Gawleen" and "Butter Cup" dancing slowly by the nickelodeon playing, 1966. Colored pencil, ballpoint pen, and crayon on paper, 2021.2
💃 Henry Horenstein (born 1947). Dancer, Jacques, Boston, MA, 2005. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Claudia and Steven Schwartz (PA 1977), 2020.44
#georgeluks #roydecarava #georgeplattlynes #gayleenaiken #henryhorenstein #spieler #ashcanschool #blackphotographer #nicholasmagallanes #mariatallchief #orpheus #ballet #visionaryart #jacquesboston #isamunoguchi #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Happy Arbor Day from the tree huggers at the Addison Gallery of American Art! Looking for a way to honor trees this weekend? Come visit Alison Elizabeth Taylor: The Sum of It!
In 2013, pregnant and unable to travel, Alison Elizabeth Taylor shifted the focus of her meditations on humanity and nature from the desert to the street. Limited to the mile-long city landscape between her home and studio, she looked for transcendent experiences on street corners and in abandoned lots:
The ubiquitous Brooklyn plane tree caught my eye, even though it had always been everywhere. Unlike most species, these trees can flourish in urban grit and grime—on sidewalks, on medians, and in little parks that haven't been maintained for decades. On rainy days, when their bark is saturated, they wear a camouflage pattern of brilliant greens, grays, and browns. Like pigeons, starlings, and squirrels, plane trees proliferate; the city whittles all nature down to a few resourceful grayish species.
Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Laocoön, 2013. Marquetry hybrid: wood veneer, oil, and shellac. Private collection. Courtesy of Alison Elizabeth Taylor and James Cohan Gallery, NY
#alisonelizabethtaylor #arborday #marquetry #woodart #woodveneer #laocoön #planetree #brooklyn #atreegrowsinbrooklyn #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
Skip rope…NOT school!
Happy #NationalSkippingDay, presented by Big Jumprope™. This totally real holiday was established way back in 2002 in order to promote skipping as a “fun” form of exercise.
Harold Edgerton (1903-1990). Moving Skip Rope, 1952. Gelatin silver print. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, gift of The Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation, 1996.61
#skipping #haroldedgerton #edgerton #motionphotography #docedgerton #papaflash #stroboscopic #highspeedcamera #artandscience #mit #jumprope #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
