America's Art Museums: A Traveler's Guide to Great Collections Large and Small [Paperback]

Suzanne Loebl (Author)

Book Description

Series: Americas Art Museums | Publication Date: January 2002

An essential companion for every art and museum lover, whether on the road or from your armchair.

Much more than a simply practical guide, this book is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour not only of this country's great museums but also of the history of art in America. Suzanne Loebl is the perfect, passionate companion, as she takes you from the august halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the intimate galleries of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, from the breathtaking gardens surrounding the Huntington in San Marino, California, to the Hispanic Heritage Wing of the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She gives you a tour of the physical space and the museum's most beloved or noteworthy works, and an overview of how both the collection and the building came to be—fascinating histories of personal taste, serendipity, civic pride, and astute management. The book includes the essential information about hours, location, and activities for children at each museum as well as a convenient index to collection strengths. 70 b/w illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

International and domestic tourists will appreciate Suzanne Loebl's America's Art Museums: A Traveler's Guide to Great Collections Large and Small. Organized by state, the book covers everything from Arizona's Fleischer Museum, specializing in the California School of American Impressionism, and Harvard's Arthur M. Sackler Museum, featuring Asian art, to the Studio Museum in Harlem, with important African-American, African and Caribbean work, and the Toledo Museum of Art, with an impressive glass collection from the ages. New York's, Chicago's and the universities' heavyweights of course receive their due. Each entry includes all necessary practical information, including activities for children and, in several friendly but pithy paragraphs, Loebl offers her impressions of the collections, services and facilities. Many entries include a photograph of a museum or artwork.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

America is abundantly blessed with art museums (some 1300 altogether), whether as large as the Getty Center in Los Angeles or as small as the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, ME. Educational as well as practical, this guide to 158 museums in 39 states provides vital information on each museum's history and the often peculiar methods by which they were established; it also explains in depth how each museum's collection grew over time. Loebl (At the Mercy of Strangers: Growing Up on the Edge of the Holocaust) has arranged her work geographically by state and then alphabetically by town and museum and includes photographs of many of the museums or artwork and her own refreshingly frank thoughts on some schools of art. She also includes a most enjoyable chapter on how to introduce children to the world of art, highlighting the museums that have areas devoted exclusively to hands-on activities for kids. Clearly not a comprehensive guide to every art museum in the country, this lovely work is nevertheless a reader-friendly introduction to some of America's greatest museums and makes for a welcome addition to both high school and public libraries. Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc P.L., CA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393320065
• ISBN-13: 978-0393320060
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No US traveler should be without it, March 14, 2007

By 

Margot Judge (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Art Museums: A Traveler's Guide to Great Collections Large and Small (Paperback)

If you travel with a list of local NPR stations so you can keep up with commercial free information and news, then this is the perfect traveling companion. The listings and descriptions of large and small museums, both specialized and general are delightfully informative. Ms Loebl has certainly done her homework. This is a must for family trips.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, August 18, 2011

By 

L. E. Wilson (Ithaca, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's Art Museums: A Traveler's Guide to Great Collections Large and Small (Paperback)

This book is a great resource for art museum lovers. For travelers who always make a point to visit the art museum of the city or town they are visiting, this would be a very useful and interesting book. It describes the collections and high lights of the collection of the art museums in the US, plus other information, such as the historic background of the museum.