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The Forty-Fifth Biennial: The Corcoran Collects, 1907–1998
Essays by Linda Simmons and Terrie Sultan with an introduction by David C. Levy and a foreword by Jack Cowart
Published 1998
128 pages
This catalog accompanied a major 1998 exhibition celebrating the rich, nearly 100-year history of the Corcoran Gallery of Art biennial of contemporary American painting. Featuring approximately 135 works, it presents a major selection of paintings that the institution had acquired from its past biennial exhibitions and provides a rare opportunity to trace significant trends in American painting through the Corcoran’s permanent collection. The introduction and essays explore the larger history of biennial exhibitions in America and the history of the Corcoran’s biennial exhibitions—including responses from the public and artists—and examine the changing tastes and movements seen in American painting during the 20th century. The catalog highlights acquisitions of works by acclaimed artists such as Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Joan Mitchell, and Robert Mangold. (When the Corcoran Gallery of Art closed in 2014 the National Gallery of Art accessioned much of its collection and became custodian of its publications. This and other out-of-print Corcoran volumes have been made freely available as PDFs in an effort to perpetuate the legacy of that institution.)