In 1978, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd gave the Fine Arts Museums more than one hundred works of American art. This selection from that gift, spanning a century, reveals the breadth of their collecting and their commitment to aesthetic quality. Many of the works reveal artists’ wonder at what they conceived of as the “New World.” Even as they excitedly shared their sense of the novelty of American culture, however, artists began to romanticize the nation’s past.

Crown Point Press’s accomplishments over 43 years as one of America’s foremost contemporary print publishers are celebrated in this exhibition of 35 prints by 16 artists, among them Chuck Close, Nathan Oliveira, Sol LeWitt, Shazia Sikander, Richard Tuttle, and Laura Owens. Crown Point specializes in etching techniques, most of which have existed for hundreds of years, and which the press has promoted as a vehicle for contemporary artistic approaches.

Bouquets to Art 2006 will be held at the new de Young in Golden Gate Park, March 21-25, 2006. Information and reservation phone lines open January 20, 2006: 415.750.3504. Brochures with complete event information will be mailed in early January 2006

More information: www.bouquetstoart.org

The founding of the New York Etching Club in 1877 formalized the late-nineteenth century phenomenon known as the “etching revival” in the United States. Historically a medium used for reproductive printmaking, by the 1870s painters were using etching to make sensitive, original works of art. Etchings, which could be made using tools found at home, became extremely popular among artists and collectors.