Triumphs & Tin Ears at Princeton’s New Art Museum

Last week, I introduced the new Princeton Art Museum building, which opened on October 31 after five years of construction and at least 30 years of searching and equivocation over the right spot, scale, and look. I looked mostly at its architecture but also at its Take a Closer Look exhibition of a soupçon from its wonderful collection. Today, I’ll look at the handsome, design-savvy new galleries and how the curators use them. I spent lots of time in the permanent-collection galleries, which means I gravitated first to American art, my specialty.

The showstopper in the museum’s distinguished American historical collection is Charles Willson Peale’s George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, from 1784. It depicts a full-length, larger-than-life Washington — tall, ruddy, and in command — whose army in 1777, days after crossing the Delaware, upset the British. Declaration of Independence aside — words, words, words — could the Patriots actually win in the field? The answer? Yes, we can.

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Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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Last week, I introduced the new Princeton Art Museum building, which opened on October 31 after five years of construction and at least 30 years of searching and equivocation over the right spot, scale, and look. I looked mostly at its architecture but also at its Take a Closer Look exhibition of a soupçon from its wonderful collection. Today, I’ll look at the handsome, design-savvy new galleries and how the curators use them. I spent lots of time in the permanent-collection galleries, which means I gravitated first to American art, my specialty.

The showstopper in the museum’s distinguished American historical collection is Charles Willson Peale’s George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, from 1784. It depicts a full-length, larger-than-life Washington — tall, ruddy, and in command — whose army in 1777, days after crossing the Delaware, upset the British. Declaration of Independence aside — words, words, words — could the Patriots actually win in the field? The answer? Yes, we can.