Terra Collection Initiative: A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre”


A single-painting exhibition, A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre” provided visitors with an in-depth exploration of this major work following its conservation in 2010. Best known today as the inventor of the telegraph and Morse code, Morse painted the immense Gallery of the Louvre—an imagined display of works at the Louvre that he felt had cultural and art historical significance—during an extended visit to Paris. Shown at three venues—Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C., and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the exhibition was the subject of imaginative installations and scholarly and public programs.

Dates & Venues

March 1–June 12, 2011
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

June 25, 2011–July 8, 2012
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States

August 4, 2012–September 22, 2013
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Works of Art from the Terra Foundation Collection

Related Content

Lecture: David McCullough, “Morse at the Louvre,” National Gallery of Art, Washington, September 26, 2011

Exhibition pamphlet: A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre”, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Related Videos

The following videos are excerpts of A New Look: Samuel F. B. Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre (2011), a DVD produced by the Terra Foundation for American Art to accompany the 2011 Terra Collection Initiative single-painting exhibition of the same title. A New Look provides viewers with an in-depth exploration of this major work following its conservation in 2010.


More Terra Collection Initiatives