Brightest Young Things

Caption: Samuel F. B. Morse, Gallery of the Louvre, detail, 1831-1833, oil on canvas, Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Samuel F.B. Morse's iconic, newly conserved painting Gallery of the Louvre (1831-1833) is on loan from the Terra Foundation of American Art. Executed in Paris and New York, the painting is Morse's "gallery picture"-a genre first popularized in the 17th century-and this is the only major example in the history of American art. It depicts his own imaginative installation of masterworks from the Louvre's Salon Carré with copyists and instructors in the foreground. Morse-who also invented Morse code and the telegraph-intended the work to inspire and inform American audiences by emphasizing the importance of instruction and learning from masterpieces.

The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of the Terra Foundation for American Art.