American art has been foundational to the Worcester Art Museum’s collection from the beginning, from the art of the ancient Americas to the creative output of living artists.
The American art collection includes over 3,800 works that range widely in medium, region, and subject matter.
Portraiture is central to this collection and includes the oldest known self-portrait by an American artist, Thomas Smith, as well as the oldest American portrait paintings, by the Freake-Gibbs Painter. The collection has over 100 objects of Paul Revere silver and significant examples of 19th-century and early 20th-century American paintings with works by Edward Mitchell Bannister, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent.
