Director Stephanie Wiles in the American Paintings and Sculpture Gallery

Director’s Letter

This spring, the Gallery turns its attention to a variety of new exhibitions that explore topics of art and science and celebrate deep-seated partnerships with other museums. Crafting Worldviews: Art and Science in Europe, 1500–1800 brings together nearly 100 works of exqui­site design and intricate construction from the holdings of the Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), the Yale Peabody Museum, and the University libraries.

Thinking Small: Dutch Art to Scale is an exhibition curated by graduate students from the Department of the History of Art. It explores objects from the 17th-century Netherlands of small size or bearing minute details designed to prompt intimate engagement by their original viewers. While the YCBA is closed for building conservation, In a New Light: Paintings from the Yale Center for British Art presents more than 60 artworks from their collection.

In June, we welcome Royce K. Young Wolf (Hiraacá [Hidatsa], Nu’eta [Mandan], and Sosore [Eastern Shoshone]) as the Gallery’s inaugural Assistant Curator of Native American Art. Young Wolf will be jointly appointed by the Peabody as the first manager of their Native American materials.

Among the new rotations in our always-evolving permanent-collection galleries are two highlighting our rich and important holdings of works on paper. The current installation of photographs speaks to the medium’s ability to engage with systematic thinking. Meanwhile, the prints and drawings rotation focuses on minimalism.

While the YCBA and the Peabody remain closed until 2024, I hope you will enjoy seeing many familiar works of art from their collections in new and different contexts. Thank you for your continued friendship and support!

Stephanie Wiles
The Henry J. Heinz II Director