The Addison Gallery opened its doors in 1931 with a core collection of 423 objects purchased for or given to the museum by Phillips Academy alumnus, Thomas Cochran and his close friends. Since then, the museum has annually added to the collection via generous donation and judicious purchase to make it what it is today–over 21,000 works representing the best of American art across media.
Addison curators carefully choose each work to enter the collection, selecting objects that augment and amplify the museum’s already established strengths, initiate conversations and offer meaningful connections with works of different periods and media, and expand the museum’s ability to present a fuller range of American art.
With this small selection of work, the majority of which has not yet been exhibited, the Addison celebrates the vision and generosity of its donors and supporters and its continuing teaching mission to build a strong and vital collection that offers insight into the complexity of the past, present, and future of the United States by asking “What is America?”
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