Photo: Yoon S. Byun
Photo: Julia Featheringill
Photo: Neil Evans
Photo: Julia Featheringill
Photo: Jessie Wallner
Photo: Julia Featheringill
Photo: Yoon S. Byun
Today's Hours: 10am – 5pm

The Addison Gallery, located on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, is free and open to the public. Plan your visit >

On View Now

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.

Read more >

About Our Collection

25,000+ objects spanning the 18th century to the present

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.

Read more >

1897
Thomas Eakins (1844–1916)
Oil on canvas

Instagram

“So many of the most striking images here — of the Civil War, of economic conditions, of the civil rights protests — present mighty externalities, lives shared, public issues. Much of ‘A Long Arc’ could illustrate a textbook for a civics or American history course, and that course would be well worth taking.”⁣
⁣
Thank you @bostonglobe for such an insightful and enthusiastic review of A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845. Come see the show for yourself and join us at our opening reception this Saturday from 4-6! Free and open to all as always! ⁣
⁣
A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Generous support for the Addison’s presentation of the exhibition has been provided by the Francesca S. Woodman Exhibitions Fund.⁣
⁣
#alongarc⁣ #southernphotography #americansouthwest #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

“So many of the most striking images here — of the Civil War, of economic conditions, of the civil rights protests — present mighty externalities, lives shared, public issues. Much of ‘A Long Arc’ could illustrate a textbook for a civics or American history course, and that course would be well worth taking.”⁣

Thank you @bostonglobe for such an insightful and enthusiastic review of A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845. Come see the show for yourself and join us at our opening reception this Saturday from 4-6! Free and open to all as always! ⁣

A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Generous support for the Addison’s presentation of the exhibition has been provided by the Francesca S. Woodman Exhibitions Fund.⁣

#alongarc⁣ #southernphotography #americansouthwest #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

106 4
A Long Arc: Photography and the American South opens this Saturday! ⁣
⁣
The South has occupied an uneasy place in the history of photography as both an example of regional exceptionalism and as the crucible from which American identity has been forged. As the first major survey of Southern photography in twenty-five years, this exhibition will examine that complicated history and reveal the South’s critical impact on the evolution of the medium, posing timely questions about American culture and character.⁣
⁣
Featuring many works from the High’s extensive collection along with important loans from private and public collections, A Long Arc will include photographs of the American Civil War, which transformed the practice of photography across the nation and established visual codes for articulating national identity and expressing collective trauma. Photographs from the 1930s–1950s, featuring many created for the Farm Security Administration, will demonstrate how that era defined a new kind of documentary aesthetic that dominated American photography for decades and included jarring and unsettling pictures that exposed economic and racial disparities. With works drawn from the High’s unparalleled collection of civil rights-era photography, the exhibition will show how photographs of the movement in the decade that followed galvanized the nation with raw depictions of violence and the struggle for justice. Contemporary photography featured in the exhibition will demonstrate how photographers working today continue to explore Southern history and themes to grasp American identity.⁣
⁣
A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Generous support for the Addison’s presentation of the exhibition has been provided by the Francesca S. Woodman Exhibitions Fund.⁣
⁣
RaMell Ross (American, born 1982), iHome, 2013, pigmented inkjet print, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with funds from the Marilyn and Donald Keough Family Foundation, 2022.159. © RaMell Ross.⁣
⁣
#alongarc #ramellross #americansouth #photographyexhibition #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

A Long Arc: Photography and the American South opens this Saturday! ⁣

The South has occupied an uneasy place in the history of photography as both an example of regional exceptionalism and as the crucible from which American identity has been forged. As the first major survey of Southern photography in twenty-five years, this exhibition will examine that complicated history and reveal the South’s critical impact on the evolution of the medium, posing timely questions about American culture and character.⁣

Featuring many works from the High’s extensive collection along with important loans from private and public collections, A Long Arc will include photographs of the American Civil War, which transformed the practice of photography across the nation and established visual codes for articulating national identity and expressing collective trauma. Photographs from the 1930s–1950s, featuring many created for the Farm Security Administration, will demonstrate how that era defined a new kind of documentary aesthetic that dominated American photography for decades and included jarring and unsettling pictures that exposed economic and racial disparities. With works drawn from the High’s unparalleled collection of civil rights-era photography, the exhibition will show how photographs of the movement in the decade that followed galvanized the nation with raw depictions of violence and the struggle for justice. Contemporary photography featured in the exhibition will demonstrate how photographers working today continue to explore Southern history and themes to grasp American identity.⁣

A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. Generous support for the Addison’s presentation of the exhibition has been provided by the Francesca S. Woodman Exhibitions Fund.⁣

RaMell Ross (American, born 1982), iHome, 2013, pigmented inkjet print, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, purchase with funds from the Marilyn and Donald Keough Family Foundation, 2022.159. © RaMell Ross.⁣

#alongarc #ramellross #americansouth #photographyexhibition #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

53 0
“Hey! I can’t see Cary Grant from here.” 
⁣
That’s a pretty brilliant and subtle North by Northwest (1959) reference for all the youths out there. Happy Presidents’ Day!⁣ 
⁣
Lee Friedlander (born 1934). Mount Rushmore, 1969. Gelatin silver print. Gift of anonymous donor, 1980.68⁣
⁣
#leefriedlander #mountrushmore #northbynorthwest #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

“Hey! I can’t see Cary Grant from here.”

That’s a pretty brilliant and subtle North by Northwest (1959) reference for all the youths out there. Happy Presidents’ Day!⁣

Lee Friedlander (born 1934). Mount Rushmore, 1969. Gelatin silver print. Gift of anonymous donor, 1980.68⁣

#leefriedlander #mountrushmore #northbynorthwest #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

62 0
Happy Valentine’s Day!⁣ Time to get knotty…
⁣
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ⁣
⁣
I couldn’t resist it. Could have also gone with “nauti.” Low-hanging fruit. Mea culpa.
⁣
Captain Ball. Knot example, 1928. Rope on panel. Museum purchase, 1950.24⁣
⁣
#valentinesday⁣ #knot #knots #knotty #maritime #nautical #folkart #heart #maritimeart #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart 
⁣

Happy Valentine’s Day!⁣ Time to get knotty…

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ⁣

I couldn’t resist it. Could have also gone with “nauti.” Low-hanging fruit. Mea culpa.

Captain Ball. Knot example, 1928. Rope on panel. Museum purchase, 1950.24⁣

#valentinesday⁣ #knot #knots #knotty #maritime #nautical #folkart #heart #maritimeart #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

109 1
The Addison will be closed on Tuesday, February 13th due to inclement weather.⁣
⁣
❄️ ⁣
⁣
Harry Callahan (1912-1999). Chicago (Trees in snow), c. 1950. Gelatin silver print. Stephen C. Sherrill Collection of American Art Foundation, SCAAF.2023.11.4⁣
⁣
#harrycallahan #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

The Addison will be closed on Tuesday, February 13th due to inclement weather.⁣

❄️ ⁣

Harry Callahan (1912-1999). Chicago (Trees in snow), c. 1950. Gelatin silver print. Stephen C. Sherrill Collection of American Art Foundation, SCAAF.2023.11.4⁣

#harrycallahan #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

102 0
Unidentified artist. Backup dancers relaxing during rehearsals for Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, 1980. Polaroid. Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2021.72.545⁣
⁣
#topical #usher #superbowl #rollerskating #1980 #polaroid #snapshot #whatisamerica #americanart #addisongalleryofamericanart

Unidentified artist. Backup dancers relaxing during rehearsals for Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, 1980. Polaroid. Gift of Peter J. Cohen, 2021.72.545⁣

#topical #usher #superbowl #rollerskating #1980 #polaroid #snapshot #whatisamerica #americanart #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

74 2
We wish you all the happiness and luck in the world during the Year of the Dragon! Happy Lunar New Year! Don’t make me have to make another post about fireworks safety!⁣
⁣
🐉 🧧 🎇 ⁣
⁣
Kenneth Kelly Wise (1923-2021). Chinese New Year, Chinatown, undated. Gelatin silver print. Sybil and Kelly Wise Photo Collection, gift of Sybil and Kelly Wise, 1992.19.100⁣
⁣
#lunarnewyear #lunarnewyear2024 #yearofthedragon #dragon #chinesenewyear #chinatown #americanart #kellywise #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

We wish you all the happiness and luck in the world during the Year of the Dragon! Happy Lunar New Year! Don’t make me have to make another post about fireworks safety!⁣

🐉 🧧 🎇 ⁣

Kenneth Kelly Wise (1923-2021). Chinese New Year, Chinatown, undated. Gelatin silver print. Sybil and Kelly Wise Photo Collection, gift of Sybil and Kelly Wise, 1992.19.100⁣

#lunarnewyear #lunarnewyear2024 #yearofthedragon #dragon #chinesenewyear #chinatown #americanart #kellywise #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

56 1
“My work has long been concerned with the representation of diverse aspects of man and his universe. At first it was mainly concerned with his physical aspect and his physical universe. Gradually I began to represent aspects of his psyche.” —Jared French⁣
⁣
Jared French, the famed American magic realist painter, was born on this day in 1905 in Ossining, New York. Don’t miss your chance to see this spectacular preliminary drawing along with other works by French and his circle in the “Queer Networks” section of Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context exhibition—open through February 11th! ⁣
⁣
Describing The Double, the major Jared French tempera painting for which this drawing is the study, the artist and art historian Nancy Grimes notes:⁣
⁣
“The Double, an egg tempera painting, uses a resurrection scenario to masterfully restate French’s preoccupation with heroic physicality. Now, however, the beautiful, gracefully proportioned body becomes not just a reflection of spiritual harmony but a symbol for the psyche, or self, in general. In this painting, four figures—a matron and three young men—stake out positions across a barren field or strand whose bleakness is intensified by smokestacks rising in the distance. The narrative is ambiguous. The central figure, a handsome, palling youth, completely naked, is either about to rise from or sink into a shallow grave.”⁣
⁣
Jared French (1905-1988). Study for The Double, c. 1950. Graphite on paper. Bequest of William Kelly Simpson (PA 1944), 2018.53⁣
⁣
#jaredfrench #pajama #thedouble #carljung #jungian #dualityofman #lgbtqia #queerart #queerartist #magicrealism #magicalrealism #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart

“My work has long been concerned with the representation of diverse aspects of man and his universe. At first it was mainly concerned with his physical aspect and his physical universe. Gradually I began to represent aspects of his psyche.” —Jared French⁣

Jared French, the famed American magic realist painter, was born on this day in 1905 in Ossining, New York. Don’t miss your chance to see this spectacular preliminary drawing along with other works by French and his circle in the “Queer Networks” section of Free Association: New Acquisitions in Context exhibition—open through February 11th! ⁣

Describing The Double, the major Jared French tempera painting for which this drawing is the study, the artist and art historian Nancy Grimes notes:⁣

“The Double, an egg tempera painting, uses a resurrection scenario to masterfully restate French’s preoccupation with heroic physicality. Now, however, the beautiful, gracefully proportioned body becomes not just a reflection of spiritual harmony but a symbol for the psyche, or self, in general. In this painting, four figures—a matron and three young men—stake out positions across a barren field or strand whose bleakness is intensified by smokestacks rising in the distance. The narrative is ambiguous. The central figure, a handsome, palling youth, completely naked, is either about to rise from or sink into a shallow grave.”⁣

Jared French (1905-1988). Study for The Double, c. 1950. Graphite on paper. Bequest of William Kelly Simpson (PA 1944), 2018.53⁣

#jaredfrench #pajama #thedouble #carljung #jungian #dualityofman #lgbtqia #queerart #queerartist #magicrealism #magicalrealism #americanart #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

75 1
Happy 112th birthday to the American titan of Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock! Pollock was born Paul Jackson Pollock in Cody, Wyoming on this day in 1912. ⁣Learn more about Addison’s masterful Phosphorescence, a 1950 gift from Peggy Guggenheim, below…
⁣
In 1947, Jackson Pollock developed his artistic idiom, dripping and looping thin skeins of paint across his canvases and squeezing thick daubs from the tube directly on their surfaces to create spatially complicated, intricately textured abstractions. These works, dubbed “action paintings” by critic Harold Rosenberg, reflected his interior life, as Pollock stated: “The modern artist . . . is working and expressing an inner world–in other words expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.” Here, Pollock used a metallic house paint that lends the work a silvery shimmer. The title of the painting may refer to the light emitted by aquatic life around his home at East Hampton, New York. ⁣
⁣
In 1955, five years after he accepted this painting as a gift to the Addison Gallery, its then director, Bartlett Hayes (he was actually offered two (2) free Jackson Pollock paintings and turned one down—hey, judge not, lest ye be judged, etc.), urged the viewer to study the work until "its web-like structure and consistent texture become evident." He went on to state that: ⁣
⁣
“the painting is an undefined symbol for anything the observer would like to make it, including the point of view that it is a spontaneous performance without any attempt at communication. That this view may be close to the facts, does not imply that spontaneity is unrelated to inner moods or convictions. Indeed, it is a common experience for an artist to make a thing simply because it seems right for him to do so.”⁣
⁣
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956). Phosphorescence, 1947. Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas. 44 x 28 inches. Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1950.3⁣
⁣
#phosphorescence⁣ #jacksonpollock #pollock #abex #abstractexperssionism #peggyguggenheim #jackthedripper #americanart #whatisamericanart #addisongalleryofamericanart⁣

Happy 112th birthday to the American titan of Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock! Pollock was born Paul Jackson Pollock in Cody, Wyoming on this day in 1912. ⁣Learn more about Addison’s masterful Phosphorescence, a 1950 gift from Peggy Guggenheim, below…

In 1947, Jackson Pollock developed his artistic idiom, dripping and looping thin skeins of paint across his canvases and squeezing thick daubs from the tube directly on their surfaces to create spatially complicated, intricately textured abstractions. These works, dubbed “action paintings” by critic Harold Rosenberg, reflected his interior life, as Pollock stated: “The modern artist . . . is working and expressing an inner world–in other words expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.” Here, Pollock used a metallic house paint that lends the work a silvery shimmer. The title of the painting may refer to the light emitted by aquatic life around his home at East Hampton, New York. ⁣

In 1955, five years after he accepted this painting as a gift to the Addison Gallery, its then director, Bartlett Hayes (he was actually offered two (2) free Jackson Pollock paintings and turned one down—hey, judge not, lest ye be judged, etc.), urged the viewer to study the work until "its web-like structure and consistent texture become evident." He went on to state that: ⁣

“the painting is an undefined symbol for anything the observer would like to make it, including the point of view that it is a spontaneous performance without any attempt at communication. That this view may be close to the facts, does not imply that spontaneity is unrelated to inner moods or convictions. Indeed, it is a common experience for an artist to make a thing simply because it seems right for him to do so.”⁣

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956). Phosphorescence, 1947. Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas. 44 x 28 inches. Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1950.3⁣

#phosphorescence⁣ #jacksonpollock #pollock #abex #abstractexperssionism #peggyguggenheim #jackthedripper #americanart #whatisamericanart #addisongalleryofamericanart⁣
...

116 2
Happy birthday, @ruthasawaofficial! Asawa was born on this day in 1926 in Norwalk, California! Did you know that the Addison was the first museum to exhibit and acquire Asawa’s work? ⁣
⁣
Celebrated for her signature biomorphic hanging wire sculptures, Figures on Green is an early work from Ruth Asawa’s time at Black Mountain College in rural North Carolina. After World War II, during which Awasa, then a teenager, and her Japanese American family were interned, she discovered a freedom of expression at the progressive Black Mountain College, founded by émigré Joseph Albers. His teachings on color, form, and negative space had a profound influence on Asawa, as she went on to develop her own distinct style and become an internationally acclaimed sculptor.⁣
⁣
In 1948 the Addison became the first museum to exhibit works by Asawa (along with Kenneth Noland, and Andy Warhol) in the exhibition Art Schools U.S.A., and was subsequently the first museum to acquire a work by her.⁣
⁣
Ruth Asawa (1926-2013). Figures on Green, 1947-48. Oil on Masonite. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Vandenbergh, 1950.11/ @ruthasawaofficial 
⁣
#ruthasawa⁣ #asawa #americanart #blackmountaincollege #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart 
⁣

Happy birthday, @ruthasawaofficial! Asawa was born on this day in 1926 in Norwalk, California! Did you know that the Addison was the first museum to exhibit and acquire Asawa’s work? ⁣

Celebrated for her signature biomorphic hanging wire sculptures, Figures on Green is an early work from Ruth Asawa’s time at Black Mountain College in rural North Carolina. After World War II, during which Awasa, then a teenager, and her Japanese American family were interned, she discovered a freedom of expression at the progressive Black Mountain College, founded by émigré Joseph Albers. His teachings on color, form, and negative space had a profound influence on Asawa, as she went on to develop her own distinct style and become an internationally acclaimed sculptor.⁣

In 1948 the Addison became the first museum to exhibit works by Asawa (along with Kenneth Noland, and Andy Warhol) in the exhibition Art Schools U.S.A., and was subsequently the first museum to acquire a work by her.⁣

Ruth Asawa (1926-2013). Figures on Green, 1947-48. Oil on Masonite. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. Vandenbergh, 1950.11/ @ruthasawaofficial

#ruthasawa⁣ #asawa #americanart #blackmountaincollege #whatisamerica #addisongalleryofamericanart
...

91 1

Addison Stories

Addison Artist Council logo

Bartlett H. Hayes Prize Recipients

2023:

Reggie Burrows Hodges

Exhibition | Residency | Publication | Acquisition

2025:

Tommy Kha

Exhibition | Residency | Publication | Acquisition