Perspectives on the Collection (2000): The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture

In its nearly two hundred years of existence, New York’s first collecting institution has never had a guide to introduce the museum-going public to the encyclopedic range of its renowned buildings of art, decortive objects, and artifacts. Now, in conjunction with the opening of the Henry Luce III Center for the Center for the Study of American Culture and in the spirit of accessibility that returns these collections to public view, The New-York Historical Society has compiled a book that not only highlights the different facets of its museum collection, but also illuminates the people who made, used, inspired, and donated the objects left to us for our interpretation today. Organized according to object type as housed in the Luce Center, each of the featured items tells a unique story. With a lively design and over one hundred color images, this book samples the full spectrum of the Historical Society’s art and artifacts, along with related manuscripts, prints, and photographs in the society’s Library. Together the entries suggest the immense interpretive resource that these materials reppresent for those curious to learn more about the American past.