Visual art of the United States

Visual art of The United States or American art is visual art made in the United States or by American artists. Before colonization there were many flourishing traditions of Native American art, and where the Spanish colonized Spanish Colonial architecture and the accompanying styles in other media were quickly in place. Early colonial art on the East Coast initially relied on artists from Europe, with John White (1540-c. 1593) the earliest example. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, artists primarily painted portraits, and some landscapes in a style based mainly on English painting. Furniture-makers imitating English styles and similar craftsmen were also established in the major cities, but in the English colonies, locally-made pottery remained resolutely utilitarian until the 19th century, with fancy products imported.

But in the later 18th century two American artists, Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley, became the most successful painters in London of history painting, then regarded as the highest form of art, giving the first sign of an emerging force in Western art. American artists who remained at home became increasingly skilled, although there was little awareness of them in Europe. In the early 19th century the infrastructure to train artists began to be established, and from 1820 the Hudson River School began to produce Romantic landscape painting that was original and matched the huge scale of American landscapes. The American Revolution produced a demand for patriotic art, especially history painting, while other artists recorded the frontier country. A parallel development taking shape in rural America was the American craft movement, which began as a reaction to the industrial revolution.

Museum of Latin American Art

The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) was founded by Dr. Robert Gumbiner in 1996 in Long Beach, California, United States and serves the greater Los Angeles area. MOLAA is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American art.

History

The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is located in downtown Long Beach, California. Housed in a contemporary structure designed by Mexican architect Manuel Rosen, the museum is home to four galleries, a contemporary “project space” and an outdoor sculpture garden.

Founded in 1996 by Dr. Robert Gumbiner, MOLAA is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American art. Through ground-breaking exhibitions, educational programs and cultural events, MOLAA expands the knowledge and appreciation of modern and contemporary Latin American art and culture and promotes a cross-cultural dialogue.

Site and Building

MOLAA is located in Long Beach’s developing East Village Arts District. Between 1913 and 1918 the site that the Museum now occupies was the home of the Balboa Amusement Producing Company, then the world’s most productive and innovative silent film studio. Before there was a Hollywood, Balboa was the king of the silver screen, producing nearly 20,000 feet of film a week. The building that was renovated in 1998 as MOLAA’s Entertainment / Education / Special Event venue may have been part of the old Balboa film studio. MOLAA’s exhibition galleries, administrative offices and store are housed in what was once a roller skating rink known as the Hippodrome. Built in the late 1920s, after the film studios were gone, the Hippodrome was a haven for skaters for four decades. The high vaulted ceilings and beautiful wooden floors were perfectly suited for the Hippodrome's final metamorphosis into the Museum of Latin American Art.