You That Way; We This Way: Whither The Future of Public Collections In The United States?

Dr Matthew Hargraves, Director, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

The concept of a public collection of art has existed in the United States since 1842 when the Wadsworth Atheneum was incorporated in Hartford, Connecticut. Today, after 180 years there are somewhere in the region of 1,000 art museums depending on definitions. The majority are defined as public collections, formed by visions of philanthropy and public spiritedness that face such challenges at present that it is reasonable to ask whether they can long endure. What lessons might the past contain to suggest the future direction of public collections in the United States?