Opened in 1873, the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum's Art Gallery is believed to be the oldest gallery in the country still in its original form. Athenaeum founder and Vermont governor Horace Fairbanks assembled the core of the art collection with the community in mind, offering a unique vantage on American taste in the wake of the Civil War. The recently renovated Athenaeum displays the collection in its landmark Second Empire building, designed by New York architect John Davis Hatch III. Home to Albert Bierstadt's monumental 1867 work, Domes of the Yosemite, the Athenaeum has remained a little-known retreat for scholars and connoisseurs until now.

This full-color, fully illustrated handbook surveys an outstanding Centennial-era collection of American and European art by Bierstadt, Jasper Cropsey, Sanford Gifford, John George Brown, Chauncey Bradley Ives, and Adolphe William Bouguereau, among others. With an essay on the collection's history and interpretive entries on each of the Athenaeum's 120 paintings and sculptures, the handbook invites readers to discover one of Vermont's greatest cultural treasures. It also includes self-guided tours for visitors, as well as resources for educators.