American Art from the Thyssen Collection

American Art in the Thyssen Collection is the result of a research project funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art to study and reinterpret the collection of American art assembled by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921−2002) over the course of more than three decades. The show is part of the events designed to celebrate the centenary of his birth.

As a result of this line of collecting, the museum owns an extensive selection of American painting, especially from the nineteenth century, and has become an essential point of reference in Europe. Divided into four themed sections, it sets out to rethink the collection of American Art from a cross-cutting approach using categories such as history, politics, science, the environment, material culture and urban life, and considering aspects such as gender, ethnic group, class and language, among others, to provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of American art and culture.

The exhibition, which is on view in rooms 55 to 46 on the first floor of the museum, features a selection of 140 works belonging to the permanent collection and the Carmen Thyssen Collection or loaned by the Thyssen family.