Art Across America: A Comprehensive Guide to American Art Museums and Exhibition Galleries [Paperback]

John J. Russell (Editor), Thomas S. Spencer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2000

While the major American art museums boast record attendance in six and seven figures, there are hundreds of museums across the country with impressive collections, imaginative architecture, and creative programs that do not get the attention they deserve. This comprehensive resource guide to American art museums and galleries provides details about 1,680 famous and lesser-known venues, such as temporary exhibitions, number and size of galleries, attendance figures, and types of objects in permanent holdings. Illustrations of facilities and objects in the collections enable the art lover to plan more efficient trips and discover hidden treasures in an off-the-beaten-path venue.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Unlike National Register Publishing's The Official Museum Directory, which includes aquariums, zoos, science museums, children's museums, and the like, this work focuses on art museums only, listing 1680 institutions nationwide by state and city. Intended to help the traveler make informed decisions on which places to visit, this straightforward guide is easy to read and has fairly large print (especially compared with the NRP directory). The coverage includes academic facilities, which were the subject of Russell and Spencer's earlier Art on Campus (Friar's Lantern, 2000), as well as corporate venues and nonprofit galleries such as the Lutheran Brotherhood Collection of Religious Art in Minneapolis and Pewabic Pottery in Detroit. Each entry offers such basics as address, telephone number, web site address (URL), hours, fees, parking, and accessibility, and there is a fully cross-referenced index as well. State maps show the locations of the various institutions, and small black-and-white illustrations of the museums themselves or an object they contain are scattered throughout the text. Featuring general-collection information, this handy, reasonably priced resource could be used in conjunction with the Art Now Gallery Guide, a magazine focusing mainly on special exhibitions and events. Wholeheartedly recommended. Jennifer L.S. Moldwin, Detroit Inst. of Arts
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This guide is designed to be a portable, readable, and useful source for planning excursions to the nearly 1,700 venues covered. The intent is to be as inclusive as possible. There are listings for noncommercial galleries as well as traditional art museums. Also listed are some specialized facilities, such as ethnic museums, historic houses, marine museums, and so on, if they have significant fine arts collections. Visitors to Chicago, to take one example, will find information on more than 20 museums and galleries, not only the Art Institute of Chicago but also the Du Sable Museum of African-American History, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and the State Street Bridge Gallery, located within one of the city's bridge houses.

Arrangement is alphabetical by state, community, then institution. Entries give address, phone and fax numbers, Internet address, director, admission fee, attendance, year established, membership availability, ADA compliance, parking, hours of operation, facilities (library, food service, shop, etc.), activities, publications, and a descriptive paragraph about the museum's collection. There is no attempt to list temporary exhibits. A map of each state (and some cities) gives a rough idea of each museum's location. An index provides access by facility name. The editors have also compiled a state-by-state list of their picks among "less-visited (that is, with fewer than 50,000 reported visitors each year) but intriguing institutions."

Although much smaller than the Official Museum Directory, this well-done guide would be a welcome addition to most reference and circulating collections as a source for locating art museums, especially those that are less well known and underappreciated but deserve greater attendance. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 898 pages
• Publisher: Friar's Lantern Inc; 1 edition (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966714415
• ISBN-13: 978-0966714418
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for travel planning, March 26, 2001

By 

Shirley A. (Geneva, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art Across America: A Comprehensive Guide to American Art Museums and Exhibition Galleries (Paperback)

We purchased this book from an art museum while on a driving trip. We used it all during out trip to make our stops a learning pleasure. It is amazing what wonderful art is out there in small museums. This book will be used whenever we plan a trip. If would be perfect for someone traveling in a motor home.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for art museum visits to other US cities, October 28, 2010

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ABC - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Art Across America: A Comprehensive Guide to American Art Museums and Exhibition Galleries (Paperback)

Do you wish you had an easier way to decide which city's art museums to visit? Russell & Spencer make it easy to decide on both the city and its art museums. The beginning of each state's chapter presents a map of the state with numbers attached to each city. The numbers represent how many art museums are in that city. This allows you do decide which city to visit, depending on how many days you can devote to the city. Each museum writeup gives you just enough info to get a feeling for what makes the museum special. As a bonus, attendance figures are given, which gives you an idea of the relative importance of each museum. This helps with time budgeting. I would not visit another city without Art Across America.