Gómez-Moreno, Carmen, "Medieval Art from Private Collections" (repost)

The first encounters of nontraveling Americans with the external forms of medieval art took place in the nineteenth century, through the Gothic revival—which we now tend to look upon with contempt—and Henry H. Richardson’s monumental but peculiar Byzantine-Romanesque architectural sctructures. It was not until the beginning of the present century that some of the great American collectors started the massive immigration of medieval works of art to this country. About the same time several American universities were proud to count outstanding medievalists among their professors, and scores of their pupils began working in the field. But then, following the withdrawal from the scene of the early leaders, interest in medieval art suffered a setback in the period after the second World War. There were exceptions in this trend. Furthermore, some remarkable collectors kept adding objects to their collections, despite rising prices in the art market and increasing difficulties attending importations.

The main purpose of this exhibition is to present to scholars and to art lovers in general what has been happening in American medieval collecting—and to revive the old fire from the cooling embers. The exhibition will also give the younger generation an opportunity to see that medieval art is permanently alive and not in conflict with contemporary art and ideas. No attempt has been made in this pioneer enterprise to present a complete survey of medieval art in American private collections.