National Museum of American Illustration: Difference between revisions

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'''The National Museum of American Illustration''' (NMAI), founded in [[1998]], is the first [[museum]] in the world to be devoted exclusively to American [[illustration]] artwork. Located on [[Newport, Rhode Island]]'s historic Bellevue Avenue in the mansion '''Vernon Court''', designed by the noted [[Gilded Age]] architecture firm [[Carrère and Hastings]], its collection contains over 2,000 original works by noted American illustrators such as [[Norman Rockwell]], [[Maxfield Parrish]], [[J. C. Leyendecker]], [[N. C. Wyeth]], and others.

{{Infobox museum

|name = National Museum of<br />American Illustration

|image = Vernon_Court,_West_Facade,_Newport_RI.jpg

|imagesize = 200

|caption =

|map_type =

|map_caption =

|coordinates = {{coord|41.4696|-71.3069|display=inline}}

|established = {{start date and age|1998}}

|dissolved =

|___location = [[Newport, Rhode Island]], US

|type = Visual art

|visitors =

|director = Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler

|curator =

|publictransit =

*[ |website = http://www.americanillustration.org/ Website of the NMAI]

}}

The '''National Museum of American Illustration''' (NMAI), founded in 1998, is the first national museum to be devoted exclusively to American [[illustration]] artwork.

The NMAI is located in the [[Vernon Court]] mansion on Bellevue Avenue in [[Newport, Rhode Island]]. The museum's collection contains over 2,000 original works by noted American illustrators such as [[Norman Rockwell]], [[Maxfield Parrish]], [[J. C. Leyendecker]], [[N.C. Wyeth]], and others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Founding |url=https://americanillustration.org/founding/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=National Museum of American Illustration |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mission |url=https://americanillustration.org/mission/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=National Museum of American Illustration |language=en-US}}</ref>

==History and ___location==

The NMAI was founded in 1998 by Laurence S. Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler in their Vernon Court home.<ref name="Ryan">{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Suzanne |date=2001-06-02 |title=The Illustrated Mansion |work=Boston Globe |url=http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/boston_globe/2001-6-2_Illustrated-Mansion.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403053010/http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/boston_globe/2001-6-2_Illustrated-Mansion.pdf |access-date=2023-02-03|archive-date=2016-04-03 }}</ref> Prior to that, Goffman Cutler had worked as an art dealer and owned the [[American Illustrators Gallery]] but subsequently transferred her personal collection to the museum after selling items to George Lucas.<ref name=flynn>{{Cite news |last=Flynn |first=Sean |title=Art of Illustration |work=Newport Daily News |publication-date=2013-05-23 |url=http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/npt_daily_news/NDN_Art%2520of%2520Illustration_5-25-13.pdf |access-date=2023-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402115515/http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/npt_daily_news/NDN_Art%20of%20Illustration_5-25-13.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-02}}</ref><ref name="grant">{{Cite news |last=Grant |first=Daniel |date=2016-07-22 |title=From Housewife to Prominent Collector, From Gallerist to One-Woman Museum |language=en-US |work=The Observer |url=https://observer.com/2016/07/from-housewife-to-prominent-collector-from-gallerist-to-one-woman-musuem/ |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref> The museum opened by appointment and then regularly to the public in October 2000 following a two-year challenge to gain approval.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weisman |first=Janine |date=2002-10-31 |title=Museum to open to Public |work=Newport Daily News |url=http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/npt_daily_news/2002/2002-10-31_NPTDN_Museum-Open-to-Public.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403042855/http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/npt_daily_news/2002/2002-10-31_NPTDN_Museum-Open-to-Public.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-03 }}</ref> It is known for its Norman Rockwell collection.<ref name=imagists>Laurence S Cutler; Judy Goffman Cutler; National Museum of American Illustration. ''Maxfield Parrish and the American Imagists''. Edison, NJ: Wellfleet Press, 2004. pg. 329 - 331.</ref><ref name="castro">{{Cite news |last=Castro|first=Alexander |date=2019-05-21 |title=Sentimental giant |language=en-US |work=The Newport Daily News |url=https://www.newportri.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/05/21/arts-review-contextualizing-norman-rockwell-in-newport/4954589007/ |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref>

The NMAI was founded in 1998 by husband and wife team Laurence Cutler (an award winning architect, urban designer, and former RISD, Harvard, and MIT professor) and Judy Cutler (a leading illustration art dealer, collector, and founder of the American Illustrators Gallery, NYC), with the [[National Arts Club]] as its founding institution. The museum opened its doors to the public on July 4, 2000. After considering several locations throughout the United States, the [[Carrère and Hastings]] designed Vernon Court estate at 492 Bellevue Avenue in [[Newport, Rhode Island]] was selected by the Cutlers, as its [[Gilded Age]] architectural origins are contemporaneous with the ‘Golden Age of American Illustration’ which the NMAI’s American Imagist collection focuses on.

In addition to Vernon Court, the adjacent property on Bellevue Avenue, Stoneacre, is owned by the museum.<ref>"MuseNews." NMAI: The propertyNational isMuseum namedof forAmerican theIllustration. demolishedhttp://www.americanillustration.org/html/news1.html mansion{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222041534/http://www.americanillustration.org/html/news1.html designed|date=2015-12-22 by}}.</ref> architect [[WilliamThe Potter]]property foris Johnnamed W.for Ellisthe thatdemolished oncemansion occupiedand the site. The grounds for the site were designed by the noted landscape architect [[Frederick Law Olmsted]], and following the purchase of the site by the NMAI founders, it has been restored as aan parkarboretum in Olmsted’s honor.<ref name=imagists/> The mansion was designed by architect William A. Potter for [[John W. Ellis]]. Stoneacre was Olmsted's first commission after establishing his office in Brookline.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} In 2016 the grounds, which include several Rhode Island State Champion trees, were recognized as a level 1 arboretum by ArbNet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://arbnet.org/morton-register/frederick-law-olmsted-park-and-arboretum,html|title = Arbnet &#124; the Morton Register of Arboreta}}</ref>

==The Collection==

The NMAI’s American Imagist Collection focuses on artwork from the ‘Golden'Golden Age of American Illustration’Illustration', a period whose heyday dates from 1865 to 1945, with the end of the original ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'' marking its ultimate demise.<ref>"Artists in the American Imagist Collection." NMAI: The National Museum of American Illustration. http://www.americanillustration.org/html/artists_indexlite07.html. 27 Oct. 2009</ref><ref name="porter">{{Cite magazine |last=Porter Brown |first=Nell |date=2015-06-16 |title="Our American History" |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2015/07/our-american-history |magazine=Harvard Magazine |language=en |access-date=2023-02-03}}</ref>

The NMAI features original art created by illustrators such as [[Norman Rockwell]], [[Maxfield Parrish]], [[N.C. Wyeth]], [[Howard Pyle]], [[J. C. Leyendecker]], and [[Jessie Willcox Smith]]. The illustrators created images integral to American culture, ranging from the [[Baby New Year|New Year’s Baby]] to [[Uncle Sam]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-09-01 |title=The National Museum of American Illustration |volume=IV |work=The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles |url=http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/journal_antiques/JOAAC_September_2003.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403042831/http://www.americanillustration.org/articles/journal_antiques/JOAAC_September_2003.pdf |archive-date=April 3, 2016 |access-date=February 4, 2023 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> For these reasons, the NMAI’s collection has been named the American Imagist Collection.<ref name="jacobson">{{Cite news |last=Jacobson |first=Aileen |date=2016-01-23 |title=The Art of Maxfield Parrish |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/nyregion/the-art-of-maxfield-parrish.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

For much of this period, when television was not the dominating medium that it is today, illustration art was the primary source through which Americans were exposed to images outside the scope of their immediate, physical, tangible reality. As such, illustration art culturally and socially defined the times with images as it helped shape and reflect the styles, attitudes, and goals of the United Sates.

Notable works by Norman Rockwell in the collection include ''[[Russian Schoolroom]]'' and ''[[The Runaway (Norman Rockwell)|The Runaway]]''. The museum’s collection also includes many pieces of art memorabilia and artifacts such as Norman Rockwell's first paint box, Maxfield Parrish’s stippling paint brushes and a plethora of photographic materials.<ref>Berman, Ann E.. "Newport News: An Illustration Museum Debuts in Rhode Island." ''Architectural Digest'', Dec. 1999: 76+. Print.</ref>

The NMAI features original art created by illustrators such as [[Norman Rockwell]], [[Maxfield Parrish]], [[N. C. Wyeth]], [[Howard Pyle]], [[J. C. Leyendecker]], [[Jessie Wilcox Smith]], [[Alton S. Tobey]], and other luminaries. The illustrators created images integral to American culture, ranging from the [[New Year’s Baby]] to [[Uncle Sam]], thus capturing the national persona. For these reasons, the NMAI’s collection has been named the American Imagist Collection.

In addition to original artworks from illustration artists, the museum’s collection also includes many pieces of art memorabilia, artifacts such as Norman Rockwell’s first paint box and Maxfield Parrish’s stippling paint brushes, and a plethora of photographic materials.

==Vernon Court==

The American Imagist Collection is housed in the [[Carrère and Hastings]] designed Vernon Court, an adaptation of an 18th century French chateau (Chateau Heroue), by architect [[Germain Boffrand]].

During the [[Gilded Age]], the US sought symbols of its emerging civilization by appropriating European architectural styles, with French style architecture being considered the consummate expression of proper architectural manners. In that atmosphere, Vernon Court was constructed in 1898 by [[Carrère and Hastings]] to be used as a summer cottage for a young widow, Anna Van Nest Gambrill (1865 – 1927). The property remained in the Gambrill family until 1956, when it was auctioned. From the school’s founding in 1963 until its closing in 1972, it served as the administration building for Vernon Court Junior College, an all girls school. Over the next two and a half decades it passed through several different owners. In 1998, Vernon Court was acquired by the Museum founders: Judy Cutler – a renowned art dealer, and Laurence Cutler – an award winning architect of international repute.

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{Portal|Rhode Island}}

* Laurence S Cutler; Judy Goffman Cutler; National Museum of American Illustration. ''Maxfield Parrish and the American Imagists''. Edison, NJ: Wellfleet Press, 2004. ISBN 0785818170; ISBN 9780785818175 (Worldcat link: [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/57069888&referer=brief_results#])

==External links==

*{{Official website|http://www.americanillustration.org/}}

{{authority control}}

*[http://www.americanillustration.org/ Website of the NMAI]

[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Rhode Island]]

{{Newport Mansions}}

[[Category:ArtMuseums museumsof andAmerican galleries in the United Statesart]]

[[Category:BuildingsArt museums and structuresgalleries inestablished Newport, Rhodein Island1998]]

[[Category:Museums in Newport, Rhode Island]]

[[Category:Mass media museums in the United States]]

[[Category:1998 establishments in Rhode Island]]