An exhibition of over 80 works by prominent American modernist artists from the Charles Butt collection, spanning from the late 19th century through the 1970s.
American Modernism From the Charles Butt Collection: From Edward Hopper to Alma Thomas is on view at The Blanton Museum of Art through August 2. It's the first exhibition dedicated to the collection of Charles Butt, the Texas businessman and philanthropist, and the first time these holdings are being shared with the public.
On loan from the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the show brings together more than 80 rarely seen paintings and works on paper by icons of American modern art, spanning from the late 19th century through the 1970s. The range is wide—the title itself points from the stark, lonely interiors of Edward Hopper to the bright, rhythmic abstractions of Alma Thomas—and the collection covers a huge stretch of the 20th century.
Rather than a chronological walk-through, the works are arranged into seven thematic sections: Breaking Form: Cubism and Its Legacy, Urban Encounters, Intimate Perspectives, Precisionism, The Language of the Sea, Land Progressions, and Edges of Abstraction. That structure lets you see how different artists tackled the same ideas—city life, the landscape, the shift toward abstraction—across several decades. If you've spent any time with American modernism, you'll recognize the names, but many of these pieces haven't been on public view until now.
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The Blanton is one of four exclusive Texas venues to host the exhibition, so it's one of the few places in the state where you can see this particular collection together. Admission is included with your general ticket, and it's free for members. It runs through August 2, so you've got a few weeks to catch it.
