American Masterpieces
American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius is a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. Through American Masterpieces, the National Endowment for the Arts sponsors performances, exhibitions, tours, and educational programs across different art forms that reach large and small communities in all 50 states.
The pilot phase of the program launched in April 2005 when the NEA announced 11 grants totaling $1.183 million awarded to support touring visual arts exhibitions. In 2006, the initiative expanded to include musical theater, choral music, dance, and literature through the NEA's Big Read program, in addition to a second year of funding for visual arts projects. For 2006, 91 grants were awarded in those five disciplines totaling $3.67 million. An additional $4.72 million was awarded through partnership agreements between organizations and their respective state or regional arts agencies for projects that reflect the goals of American Masterpieces.
Early Utah Masterpieces
The Early Utah Masterpieces project features twenty six paintings from the State Fine Art Collection for a traveling exhibit. The paintings were reproduced in the giclee process to ensure the preservation of the valuable paintings by early Utah masters. An educational booklet with biographies of the artists and a children’s booklet of original watercolors based on the life of Alice Merrill Horne was produced and accompanies the exhibit to the various exhibition sites. Greeting cards, scarves and ties are also available.