Spain Through American Eyes: A Pioneering Exhibition at the Chrysler Museum of Art

Co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and Milwaukee Art Museum, “Americans in Spain” brings together more than seventy paintings alongside nineteenth-century photographs, prints, and travel guides to tell the story of Spanish influence on the development of American art. The exhibition is arranged thematically with the color-coded walls of the main gallery guiding the visitors from one topic and to another. It occupies three rooms: the narrow entrance space that introduces the exhibition’s concept, the large main gallery partitioned into smaller thematic areas, and the relatively small last room for drawings and photographs that provides an intimate space for viewing the works up-close. The exhibition draws on the two institutions’ rich collections of American and old master paintings, while also showcasing extraordinary loans from U.S. and international museums. Among the highlights are two remarkable portraits of the Spanish dancer Carmen Dauset Moreno, known as Carmencita, made during her visit to New York in 1890: one…