Advancing American Art Collection

Advancing American Art Collection. . Auburn University's acquisition of paintings from the auction featured works by major artists of the day, including Arthur Dove, Lyonel Feininger, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Ben Shahn, together with significant examples by emerging artists. It became the cornerstone of a formative university art collection. More broadly, the collection acknowledges the value of public debate on art and the government's role in art patronage, topics that continue to challenge American discourse. For nearly 60 years, the collection was without a permanent location for public viewing. In 2003, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art opened, and Advancing American Art joined other works of art in a broad collection spanning more than three centuries. As a vital part of Auburn University and the greater community, the museum is entrusted by the citizens of Alabama to preserve, enhance, research, and interpret this collection., In 1946, at the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. Department of State assembled a group of modernist paintings by American artists to be exhibited throughout Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The purpose of this diplomatic initiative, called Advancing American Art, was to demonstrate the ascendancy of contemporary American art while promoting the freedom of expression that a democracy allows. Within a year of the first exhibition, the project was abruptly halted due to partisan criticism for using taxpayers' money to purchase the art, and some negative reactions among the public and media. Opponents took issue with the mostly abstract or expressionistic styles used to portray American life, along with the leftist views of some of the artists. Following the collection's return from abroad, it was auctioned off as surplus property, together with a related group of watercolors. Auburn University, then known as Alabama Polytechnic Institute, acquired 36 of the 117 paintings in the sale.