Playing to Our Strengths: Highlights from the Permanent Collection

This is the second exhibition in a series highlighting key strengths of the Addison’s renowned collection of American art from the 17th century to the present day. While we acknowledge—and work to remedy—the gaps and omissions in our holdings, their remarkable breadth, depth, and quality across media are cause for celebration. With over 29,000 objects from which to choose, this series offers countless frameworks through which to engage with the Addison’s unparalleled collection.

This iteration of Playing to Our Strengths unfolds over two galleries that juxtapose two distinct tendencies in American art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first gallery explores the “ideal,” bringing together Impressionist paintings with Pictorialist photography. These related movements shared a commitment to capturing fleeting moments of beauty, often depicting tranquil landscapes and scenes of quiet domesticity through soft, atmospheric techniques. The second gallery confronts the “real” through works by artists of the Ashcan School and social realist photographers. These artists rejected romanticized depictions of American life, turning an unflinching gaze toward urban life, immigration, industrial labor, and the social realities of a changing nation. Together, these works reveal how American artists of the era grappled with questions of beauty, truth, and the rapidly transforming character of modern life.

Generous support for this exhibition has been provided by the Mollie Bennett Lupe & Garland M. Lasater Exhibitions Fund.