Some background

videos + essays

Link to the Toledo Museum of Art's website

John Sloan, <em>Movies</em>
John Sloan, Movies

When movies were new and lights transformed the darkened city streets.

Turning Uncle Tom’s Cabin upside down, Alison Saar’s <em>Topsy and the Golden Fleece</em>
Turning Uncle Tom’s Cabin upside down, Alison Saar’s Topsy and the Golden Fleece

Jason and the Golden Fleece and the American anti-Slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin combine to upend our own contemporary myths

Thomas Cole, <em>The Architect’s Dream</em>
Thomas Cole, The Architect’s Dream

Cole, the great American landscape painter looks across the vast history of Western architecture

Faith Ringgold, <em>Ben</em>
Faith Ringgold, Ben

Politics, experience, and humanity on the streets of 1970s New York.

Duane Hanson, <em>Executive</em>, originally titled, <em>Another Day</em>
Duane Hanson, Executive, originally titled, Another Day

Museum visitors often mistake this sculpture for a real person

American brilliance at the St. Louis World’s Fair: Libbey’s Punch Bowl
American brilliance at the St. Louis World’s Fair: Libbey’s Punch Bowl

This dazzling, prismatic, brilliant cut glass creates a universe of pattern and reflection.

Marisol, <em>The Party</em>
Marisol, The Party

At this party, everyone has the same face and seems profoundly alone.

Rachel Ruysch, <em>Flower Still-Life</em>
Rachel Ruysch, Flower Still-Life

In the Dutch Golden Age, investors bet big on tulips. The market tanked, but this hyperreal bouquet held its value.