Butler Institute of American Art

Infobox Museum
name = Butler Institute of American Art

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imagesize = 200
map_type =
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latitude = 41.105371
longitude = -80.645458
established = 1919
dissolved =
location = 524 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio, 44502
type = American art
visitors =
director =
curator = Dr. Louis A. Zona
publictransit =
website = http://www.butlerart.com/

The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art.cite news
title = Art Institute Gets Bulk of $1,5000,000 J. G. Butler Estate
work = The Youngstown Daily Vindicator
date = December 29, 1927] Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating "pro bono" since 1919.cite news
title = Summer Refresher
work = Time
date = July 28, 1958
accessdate = 2007-03-09] Dedicated in 1919, the original structure is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic Places .citation | title= Butler Institute of American Art: About | publisher=ARTINFO | year=2008 | url= http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/22233/8751/about/butler-institute-of-american-art-youngstown/ | accessdate=2008-07-28 ]

Prior to 2007, the most celebrated work in the Butler's permanent collection was Winslow Homer's, "Snap the Whip", a famed tribute to the era of the one-room schoolhouse. In 2007, however, the museum acquired the Norman Rockwell painting "Lincoln the Railsplitter" for $1.6 million. The previous owner of the 84.5 by 44.5 inch painting was billionaire and former presidential candidate Ross Perot. Other aspects of the nation's past are captured in a unique collection of paintings featuring southwestern Native Americans, which were once part of Joseph Butler's personal collection.

Additional highlights include an iconic depiction of George Washington's wedding, William Gropper's celebrated "Youngstown Strike", an interpretation of the area's violent 1937 "Little Steel Strike", and Albert Bierstadt's 'Oregon Trail, 1869".

Meanwhile, the gallery of modern art features a striking, life-sized painting titled, "Americans: Youngstown, Ohio," which depicts personalities connected to the Butler as they appeared in the 1970s.

In recent years, the Butler has expanded, with the construction of a new wing devoted to the theme, "Technology and Art". In addition, the museum has opened an elegant café, known as "Winslow's", in honor of Winslow Homer, the painter who produced the Butler's most beloved acquisition.

References

External links

* [http://www.butlerart.com Butler Institute of American Art]