By 1927, when the re-named Detroit Institute of Arts opened to the public, the American holdings had grown considerably in size and importance. To showcase this ever-increasing wealth of material, the collection was installed in its own wing of the museum. In the nineteen galleries devoted to American art, one proceeds from the art of the colonial period, through rooms devoted to history painting, landscape art, portraiture, tonalist paintings, civil war scenes, academic works, Barbizon and Impressionist works, and the Ash Can School.

Due to the DIA’s major renovation and expansion project, the American collection wing will not be fully installed until 2007, although individual works are on display. As a result, a significant portion of the collection will be installed in the Shelden galleries and the Great Hall, with other pieces being placed into storage, or travelling on tour. In the meantime, we invite you to view many of these works online.