Four Centuries of American Art

Works by some of the most influential artists in American history came on display in United States post offices beginning August 27, 1998 when a pane of 20 postage stamps celebrating Four Centuries of American Art was officially issued. The pane of stamps includes works by Grant Wood, Winslow Homer, and Mary Cassatt, among others.

Deborah K. Willhite, the Postal Service's Senior Vice President, Government Relations, was joined by Virginia Noelke, Chairperson of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, to dedicate the stamps. John Hotchner, President of the American Philatelic Society and Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee member, and Jackson Taylor, Vice President of the American Stamp Dealers Association, were on hand for the event.

Eighty million of the Four Centuries of American Art stamps have been printed and became available at post offices nationwide on August 28. These stamps are the latest in the Postal Service's popular "Classic Collection," a format featuring a collector sheet of 20 colorful designs with descriptive text on the reverse side of each stamp. Previous Classic Collections centered on themes of Legends of the West, the Civil War, Comic Strip Classics, and Classic American Aircraft.

Presenting a mix of style and subject matter, the 20 works featured on the Four Centuries of American Art pane of stamps come from museums and collections across the country. The following are featured:

• John Foster's Portrait of Richard Mather
• The Freake Limner's Mrs. Elizabeth Freake and Baby Mary
• Ammi Phillips' Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog
• Rembrandt Peale's Rubens Peale with a Geranium
• John James Audubon's Long-billed Curlew, Numenius Longrostris
• George Caleb Bingham's Boatmen on the Missouri
• Asher B. Durand's Kindred Spirits
• Joshua Johnson's The Westwood Children
• William Harnett's Music and Literature
• Winslow Homer's The Fog Warning
• George Catlin's The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas
• Thomas Moran's Cliffs of Green River
• Albert Bierstadt's The Last of the Buffalo
• Frederic Edwin Church's Niagara
• Mary Cassatt's Breakfast in Bed
• Edward Hopper's Nighthawks
• Grant Wood's American Gothic
• Charles Sheeler's Two Against the White
• Franz Kline's Mahoning
• Mark Rothko's No. 12

Be sure to visit more of Resource Library Magazine with museum exhibition news, stories on American art, calendars, and more. Here are links to selected sections of the magazine:

• Feature Stories Indexed by Publication Date
• Museum Exhibition Stories Indexed by Institution and Geography
• Other Exhibition Articles Indexed by Organization
• Feature Stories Indexed by Subject and Media
• Museum Calendar of Exhibitions, Current and Future Years
• Milestones, Including Appointments, New Buildings, etc.
• Methods and Sources of Appraisals, Authentication, Conservation and Artist Identification
• Art Law by Columnist Ann Avery Andres,
• Art Sellers' Showcase and Sponsorships
• Books, Magazines, Videos & CD-ROM's
• Cameos of Historic American Art Collections
• Distinguished Artists, Including an Alphabetical Index of Over 1,000 Deceased American Artists
• Dunbier on American Art and Fine Art Valuation, a Series of Columns by Dr. Roger Dunbier
• The Plein Air Scene by Columnist Sarah Beserra
• Magazine Table of Contents
• Advertising Options
• Do You Like Resource Library? Recommend-It (tm) to a Friend or Colleague!

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