The Rollins Museum of Art’s American collection has experienced transformative growth in the past few years, with close to forty remarkable paintings from the 18th through the early 20th century joining the collection as current or intended gifts. At once complementary and additive, they have enriched the collection, allowing RMA to present a more nuanced history of American art. They include artists not previously represented in the collection (John Singer Sargent, Thomas Cole, Benjamin West, George Inness, and Martin Johnson Heade, among others); different genres by painters already owned by RMA (Robert Henri, William Merritt Chase); as well as others who simply bolster areas of strength (for instance 19th century landscape painting, including works by Thomas Moran, John Henry Twachtman, Herman Herzog, etc.).

IMAGE CAPTION: Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848), Catskill Mountain House, The Four Elements, 1843-44, oil on canvas, 28 ½ x 36 ½ in., Gift of Diane and Michael Maher, 2023.6