The Carter Collection

Ongoing

The Carter houses one of the great collections of American art, from historical landscapes captured on canvas to city streets seen through the lens of a camera. Anchored by iconic masterworks from the 19th and 20th centuries, the collection includes a range of artists, mediums, and styles, providing countless ways to explore and understand American creativity.

In our galleries sometimes you’ll find contemporary works alongside historical ones, or photographs alongside paintings—the depth of the collection allows us to highlight such connections through time and medium. If you feel like you’ve discovered something special when you find these moments, you have! We’re regularly changing out these works, so each time you visit, you know you’ll encounter something you haven’t seen before.

Exhibition Highlights

Albert Bierstadt

Sunrise, Yosemite Valley, ca. 1870

Oil on canvas

1966.1

An oil painting of sunlight flooding a mountain valley filled with trees and a lake.

James Surls

Seven and Seven Flower, 1998

Pine and steel

2022.22

A large, hanging sculpture of seven clusters of seven elongated, tapered forms that resemble flower petals and stems.

Louise Nevelson

Lunar Landscape, 1959-1960

Painted wood

1999.3.A-J

Lewis Wickes Hine

Steamfitter, 1921

Gelatin silver print

P1981.80.3

A black-and-white photograph of a muscular man crouched next to a large piece of machinery that he is adjusting with a wrench.

Stuart Davis

Blips and Ifs, 1963-1964

Oil on canvas

1967.195

An abstract painting of words and shapes in bright yellow, red, green, white, and black.

Thomas Eakins

Swimming, 1885

Oil on canvas

1990.19.1

An oil painting of a group of nude young men diving off of rocks into a calm body of water.

Charles Sheeler

Conversation - Sky and Earth, 1940

Oil on canvas

2009.7

An oil painting of a power grid viewed from below, with a bright blue sky and dam in the background.

Frederic Remington

Coming Through the Rye, 1902

Bronze

1961.23

Take a virtual visit through our collection galleries! Created in January 2021, this 3-D tour unlocks new stories and shares fun highlights through video, audio, and more. Click to navigate through the galleries and hover your mouse over the buttons for more information about select works of art.