Collecting the “Other Americas”: Ancient Americas Collections in American Art Museums

The term “pre-Columbian art” once described the material culture produced in the Americas, mostly south of the US-Mexico border, prior to the arrival of Europeans. Museums across the United States now refer to these departments as art of “the Americas” or “the ancient Americas.” Stewards of these collections in American art museums have begun confronting the changing meanings and import of what Nelson Rockefeller once described as the “other Americas.” This symposium volume captures the history of collecting and display of ancient American works in art museums, a history surprisingly poorly documented until now.