This new volume accompanies and complements the publication of the major new 2-volume catalogue the Brooklyn Museum's collection American paintings by artists born before 1876. It provides a richly illustrated general survey of American painting, aimed at the nonspecialist, from the late Colonial era to the early years of the twentieth century as it is presented in 64 of the Museum's most significant paintings by American artists.Each painting is illustrated in colour, many with accompanying colour details and comparative images. The selected works are arranged in four thematic sections: early American art, art of the 1830's to 50's, American painting in the Civil War Era, and painting of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Extended captions discuss the key features of each painting, information about the artist, and the wider artistic context of the work and the period in which it was produced. The volume features a Chronology, which focuses on wider key moments, movements and styles that developed in American art post-Independence. Special attention is also given to works by individual artists who heavily influenced the development of American painting, such as Copley, Cole and Eakins. AUTHOR: Teresa A. Carbone is Andrew W. Mellon Curator and chair of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum. She organized the exhibition Eastman Johnson: Painting America (1999) and edited the accompanying book, which won the 18th annual Henry Allen Moe Prize, awarded by the New York State Historical Association to the outstanding museum catalogue of the year. Dr. Carbone served as Project Director for American Identities: A New Look (2001), a major reinstallation of the Brooklyn Museum's American Galleries incorporating paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts along with Native American and Spanish Colonial Material. 85 colour & 20 b/w illustrations